Highly sensitive, graphene oxide supported zinc stannate (Zn2SnO4) nanocubes and their room temperature NO2 gas sensor properties

Graphene based hetero-nanostructured sensor systems have gained much attention for improving sensing behavior towards harmful gases, especially NO
₂
. In this report, enhanced room temperature sensing response towards NO
₂
gas using rGO@Zn
₂
SnO
₄
nanocubes. A facile two step synthesis method is adopted involving hydrothermal synthesis for the preparation of highly monodispersed zinc stannate (Zn
₂
SnO
₄
) nanocubes having clear edges and length of 80 ± 0.5 nm were found to be anchored on the exfoliated rGO nanosheet supports. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies divulge the clear existence of crystalline rhombohedral Zn
₂
SnO
₄
and rGO sheets. Gas sensing studies revealed that the Zn
₂
SnO
₄
nanocubes supported on rGO can detect NO
₂
even at 30°C and showed enhanced sensing response compared to pristine Zn
₂
SnO
₄
nanocubes based on the spill-over effect and unwrapped rGO sheets.