Synthesis and remarkable gas sensing performance of biomorphic tubular porous SnO2 templated from sorghum straw

Biomorphic porous SnO2 was hydrothermally synthesized at 160 degrees C and post-calcined at 550 degrees C using sorghum straw as biotemplate. The as-obtained tubular porous SnO2 inherited the hierarchical microstructure of sorghum straw with a specific surface area of 28.6 m(2).g(-1) and exhibits remarkable gas sensing performance. After surface modified by Pt nanoparticles, biomorphic SnO2 shows excellent low-temperature hydrogen sensing characteristics with a high sensitivity of 18.2 for 200 ppm hydrogen at 50 degrees C, a short response time of 7 s and excellent selectivity, as a result of the synergism of the unique porous structure of biomorphic SnO2 and the catalytic activity of the loaded Pt nanoparticles.