• ETRI Journal
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.636-641
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• 2009

ZnO nanofibers were electro-spun from a solution containing poly 4-vinyl phenol and Zn acetate dihydrate. The calcination process of the ZnO/PVP composite nanofibers brought forth a random network of polycrystalline wurtzite ZnO nanofibers of 30 nm to 70 nm in diameter. The electrical properties of the ZnO nanofibers were governed by the grain boundaries. To investigate possible applications of the ZnO nanofibers, their CO and $NO_2$ gas sensing responses are demonstrated. In particular, the $SnO_2$-deposited ZnO nanofibers exhibit a remarkable gas sensing response to $NO_2$ gas as low as 400 ppb. Oxide nanofibers emerge as a new proposition for oxide-based gas sensors.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.2694-2698
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• 2012

Materials on the scale of nanoscale have widely been used as research topics because of their interesting characteristics and aspects they bring into the field. Out of the many metal oxides, zinc oxide (ZnO) was chosen to be fabricated as nanofibers using the electrospinning method for potential uses of solar cells and sensors. After ZnO nanofibers were obtained, calcination temperature effects on the ZnO nanofibers were studied and reported here. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the aggregation of the ZnO nanofibers progressed by calcination. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study showed the hcp ZnO structure was enhanced by calcination at 873 and 1173 K. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the crystallinity of the calcined ZnO nanofibers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) verified the thermal oxidation of Zn species by calcination in the nanofibers. These techniques have helped us deduce the facts that the diameter of ZnO increases as the calcination temperature was raised; the process of calcination affects the crystallinity of ZnO nanofibers, and the thermal oxidation of Zn species was observed as the calcination temperature was raised.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.609-614
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• 2012

We report on the NO gas sensing properties of non-directional ZnO nanofibers synthesized using a typical electrospinning technique. These non-directional ZnO nanofibers were electrospun on an $SiO_2$/Si substrate from a solution containing poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and zinc nitrate hexahydrate dissolved in distilled water. Calcination processing of the ZnO/PVA composite nanofibers resulted in a random network of polycrystalline ZnO nanofibers of 50 nm to 100 nm in diameter. The diameter of the nanofibers was found to depend primarily on the solution viscosity; a proper viscosity was maintained by adding PVA to fabricate uniform ZnO nanofibers. Microstructural measurements using scanning electron microscopy revealed that our synthesized ZnO nanofibers after calcination had coarser surface morphology than those before calcination, indicating that the calcination processing was sufficient to remove organic contents. From the gas sensing response measurements for various NO gas concentrations in dry air at several working temperatures, it was found that gas sensors based on electrospun ZnO nanofibers showed quite good responses, exhibiting a maximum sensitivity to NO gas in dry air at an operating temperature of $200^{\circ}C$. In particular, the non-directional electrospun ZnO nanofiber gas sensors were found to have a good NO gas detection limit of sub-ppm levels in dry air. These results illustrate that non-directional electrospun ZnO nanofibers are promising for use in low-cost, high-performance practical NO gas sensors.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2021

The (Ga_1-xZn_x)(N_1-xO_x) solid solution is attracting extensive attention for photocatalytic water splitting and wastewater treatment owing to its narrow and controllable band gap. To optimize the photocatalytic performance of the solid solution, the key points are to decrease its band gap and recombination rate. In this study, (Ga_1-xZn_x)(N_1-xO_x) nanofibers with various Zn fractions are prepared by electrospinning followed by calcination and nitridation. The effect of the composition and crystallinity of electrospun oxide nanofibers on the morphology and optical properties of the obtained solid-solution nanofibers are systematically investigated. The results show that the final shape of the (Ga_1-xZn_x) (N_1-xO_x) material is greatly affected by the crystallinity of the oxide nanofibers before nitridation. The photocatalytic properties of (Ga_1-xZn_x)(N_1-xO_x) with different Ga:Zn atomic ratios are investigated by studying the degradation of rhodamine B under visible light irradiation.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.3.2-3.2
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• 2011

Nanofibers, one of various one-dimensional nanomaterials such as nanorods, nanowires and nanotubes have been successfully synthesized by many groups in recent years and their applications to chemical sensors, catalytic filters and biomedicine, etc. are extensively tested. In particular, there is a possibility that chemical sensors based on oxide nanofibers can overcome the shortcomings of chemical sensors based on single nanowires. In order to prepare oxide nanofibers, the electrospinning method is most widely used. In this work, we synthesized various oxide nanofibers including ZnO, SnO2 and CuO by employing an electrospinning method and various shapes of nanofibers including core-shell nanofibers and hollow nanofibers as well. The response properties of the various nanofibers to oxidizing and reducing gaseous species have been investigated systematically. The normal oxide nanofibers showed high sensitivity and quite fast response time to many gaseous species. Furthermore, derivatives of normal nanofibers including hollow nanofibers, core-shell nanofibers and heterostructured nanofibers display much superior sensing properties. These results hold promise for the practical application of oxide nanofibers to chemical sensors. In addition, the sensing mechanisms operated in the nanofibers will be discussed in detail.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.419-422
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• 2015

Pure and Mo-doped ZnO hollow nanofibers were prepared by single capillary electrospinning and their gas sensing characteristics toward 5 ppm ethanol, trimethylamine (TMA), CO and $H_2$ were investigated. The gas responses and responding kinetics were dependent upon sensing temperature and Mo doping. Mo-doped ZnO hollow nanofibers showed high response to 5 ppm TMA ($R_a/R_g=111.7$, $R_a$: resistance in air, $R_g$: resistance in gas) at $400^{\circ}C$, while the responses of pure ZnO hollow nanofibers was low ($R_a/R_g=47.1$). In addition, the doping of Mo enhanced selectivity toward TMA. The enhancement of gas response and selectivity to TMA by Mo doping to ZnO nanofibers was discussed in relation to the interaction between basic analyte gas and acidic additive materials.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.253-253
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• 2009

Electrospinning is one of the simple, cost- efficient methods to produce long continuous semiconducting oxide nanofibers. Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) and zinc acetate were used. PVA/Zinc acetate aqueous solutions were electrospun into nonwoven webs. CCD camera, with a lens of long working distance and digital video board were used in capturing the drop and web deposition. The diameter and morphology of nanofibers were analyzed with a Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). In this study, the average diameter and morphology of nanofibers have been explorered.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.577-592
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• 2023

In this study, nanofiber-based textile sensors were developed for motion detection and monitoring. Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofibers containing zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and silver nanowires (AgNW) were fabricated using electrospinning. PVDF was chosen as a piezoelectric polymer, zinc oxide as a piezoelectric ceramic, and AgNW as a metal to improve electric conductivity. The PVDF/ZnO/AgNW nanocomposite fibers were used to develop a textile sensor, which was then incorporated into an elbow band to develop a wearable smart band. Changes in the output voltage and peak-to-peak voltage (V_p-p) generated by the joint's flexion and extension were investigated using a dummy elbow. The β-phase crystallinity of pure PVDF nanofibers was 58% when analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; however, the β-phase crystallinity increased to 70% in PVDF nanofibers containing ZnO and to 78% in PVDF nanocomposite fibers containing both ZnO and AgNW. The textile sensor's output voltage values varied with joint-bending angle; upon increasing the joint angle from 45° to 90° to 150°, the V_p-p value increased from 0.321 V_p-p to 0.542 V_p-p to 0.660 V_p-p respectively. This suggests that the textile sensor can be used to detect and monitor body movements.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.252-256
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• 2015

In this study, we propose a novel fabrication of an oxide-based lateral thermoelectric pn couple and investigate the characteristics of the thermoelectric couple. Electrospun ZnO and $LaSrCoO_3$ nanofibers are used as n- and p-legs of the couple, respectively. The Seebeck coefficients of the n- and p-type nanofibers and the pn couple are $-98.1{\mu}V/K$, $42.4{\mu}V/K$, and $118.8{\mu}V/K$, respectively. The thermoelectric couple generates an output voltage of $484.7{\mu}V$ at a temperature difference of 4.1 K.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.205-209
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• 2011

Zinc oxide has semi-conductivity and super conductivity characteristics. It can be used optically and is applied on many areas such as gas sensor, solar cell and optical waveguide. In this paper, to improve optical characteristics of ZnO, aluminum was added on zinc oxide. Zinc oxide and aluminum zinc oxide was fabricated as nano fiber form. ZnO solution was created by mixing poly vinyl pyrrolidone, ethyl alcohol, and zinc acetate. An Al doped ZnO was created by adding aluminum solution to ZnO sol. By applying these sols on electro spinning method, nano fibers were fabricated. These fibers are heat treated at 300, 500, and $700^{\circ}C$ degrees and were analyzed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine the nano structures. TGA and DSC measurement was also used to measure the change of mass and calorie upon temperature change. The absorbance of ZnO and Al-doped ZnO was carried out by UV-vis measurement.