The construction of ammonia gas sensors with wide detection ranges is important for exhalation diagnosis and environmental pollution monitoring. To achieve a wide detection range, sensitive materials must possess excellent spatial confinement and large active surfaces to enhance gas adsorption. In this study, an ammonia microwave gas sensor with a wide detection range of 10 ppb-0.55 v/v% at room temperature was fabricated by incorporating hollow multishelled-structured BaTiO3 (HoMS-BaTiO3). The effect of the number of shells and the quantity of the sensitive material on the gas-sensing performance was investigated, and two-layered HoMS-BaTiO3 demonstrated the best response at high concentrations (0.15-0.55 v/v%). Conversely, single-layered HoMS-BaTiO3 displayed outstanding performance at low concentrations (10 ppb-0.15 v/v%). The lower the quantity of the sensitive material, the higher the response. This study offers a method for preparing room-temperature ammonia sensors with a wide detection range and reveals the link between the structure and quantity of sensitive materials and gas-sensing performance.
Keywords: NH3 gas sensing; hollow multishelled structured BaTiO3; microwave sensor; spatial confinement; wide detection range.