Room-temperature gas sensing based on visible photoluminescence properties of metal oxide nanobelts

The gas-sensitive light emission properties of structurally uniform and single-crystal tin dioxide and zinc oxide nanobelts are reported. Strong visible gas-sensitive photoluminescence ( PL) emission was observed and the influence of the environment was studied by comparing measurements obtained in the presence of air and a low concentration of NO2 as a function of temperature from 300 to 500 K. Visible photoluminescence was reversibly quenched by nitrogen dioxide at the 5 ppm level at room temperature. Preliminary results on time-resolved PL properties of tin dioxide nanobelts are also shown.