Effect of Ti on the gas sensing characteristic of (Ti0.5Sn0.5)O2 solid solutions

In this work we report microstructure and gas sensing property of the pristine SnO2 and (Ti,Sn)O-2 solid solutions prepared via the hydrothermal method. Of all the examined volatile organic compound gases, the (Ti,Sn)O-2 solid solution exhibits somewhat lower gas response as compared to that of pristine SnO2. Further, we perform a first principles calculation to establish a surface model for solid solution and estimate its atomic configuration. The tightness of Ti-6C(Sn-6C)-O-2C bond and high oxygen vacancy formation energy for solid solution suggest that less amount of pre-adsorbed oxygen was formed on the surface, ultimately resulting in sensing performance weakening. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.