Tuning ZnSe nanostructures for enhanced ammonia sensing at room temperature

Abstract

Nanostructured materials, defined by their distinctive physicochemical properties at the nanometer scale, facilitate the innovation of sophisticated applications through their inherent size-dependent phenomena and surface characteristics. In this study, we explore the synthesis of ZnSe nanostructures with distinct spherical and flower-like morphologies by varying the concentration of Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). Our findings reveal that higher concentrations of EDTA facilitate flower-like morphologies, which provide a large surface area desired for gas sensing applications. Herein, the as-synthesized ZnSe nanostructures were applied for ammonia (NH₃) sensing at room temperature at different concentrations to evaluate their performance. The results obtained indicate that ZnSe nanostructures with flower-like morphology exhibit superior sensing capabilities, demonstrating a good response (ΔR/R_air)% of 71 % compared to the 61 % response observed for spherical ZnSe nanostructures for 20 ppm NH₃ gas, measured at room temperature. Additionally, the flower-like ZnSe nanostructures show significantly enhanced response and recovery times, demonstrating their potential as efficient materials for NH₃ detection at room temperature.