This work has presented gas sensors based on indium tin oxide (ITO) for the detection of SO2 and NO2. The ITO gas-sensing material was deposited by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The properties of gas sensing could be improved by increasing the ratio of SnO2. The response characteristics of the gas sensor for detecting different concentrations of NO2 and SO2 were investigated. In the detection of NO2, the sensitivity was significantly improved by increasing the SnO2 ratio in ITO by 5%, and the response and recovery time were reduced significantly. However, the sensitivity of the sensor decreased with increasing SO2 concentration. From X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, the gas-sensitive response mechanisms were different in the atmosphere of NO2 and SO2. The NO2 was adsorbed by ITO via physisorption but the SO2 had a chemical reaction with the ITO surface. The gas selectivity, temperature dependence, and environmental humidity of ITO-based gas sensors were systematically analyzed. The high detection sensitivity for acidic gas of the prepared sensor presented great potential for acid rain monitoring.
Keywords: NO2 detection; SO2 detection; indium tin oxide; mechanism of gas-sensitive detection.