Doping effect on the sensing properties of ZnO nanoparticles for detection of 2-chloroethyl ethylsulfide as a mustard simulant

In this work, we report the gas sensing properties of un-doped and M (M = Al, Co, Cu, Mn)-doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), synthesized by a hydrothermal method for the detection of 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (2-CEES), as a mustard simulant. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterizations reveal that Al-doped ZnO NPs were successfully fabricated. The sensing response of 1 at% Al-doped ZnO NPs was found to be the maximum (R = 954.2) at 500 °C, owing to enhanced conductivity and concentration of the oxygen vacancies after Al doping. Al is a more effective dopant for ZnO NPs toward enhancing its sensing properties for the detection of 2-CEES than Cu, Co, or Mn. The Al-doped ZnO NPs are both sensitive and selective to 2-CEES. The sensing performance of these NPs for 2-CEES is approximately 15 times better than the ones reported previously for other types of NPs.