Synthesis and Characterization of Thin Film Gas Sensors Using Sri Lankan Natural Graphite: Comparative Analysis of Sensitivity to Ammonia, Acetone, and Ethanol Vapors
Abstract
Gas sensors were synthesized by using Sri Lankan natural graphite as the primary material. Any kind of pure graphite has never been used to identify ammonia, acetone and ethanol vapors. A thin film was coated on Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide (FTO) glass using the doctor blade method, with the graphite mixture prepared using acetone and distilled water and annealed at 100 0C for two hours in air. Surface morphology analysis via Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed closely packed irregular shaped particles ranging in size from approximately 4 to 70 μm. The estimated value of the porosity was found to be 8.98%. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis explored calculated crystallite sizes of 60.00782, 73.19767, and 59.28573 nm for the 002, 004, and 006 planes, respectively. X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that single phase of pure graphite is crystallized in thin film form, and there is not any preferred orientation of crystallites. Gas sensitivity, recovery time, and response time were evaluated in 1000 ppm of ammonia (NH3), ethanol, and acetone vapors at room temperature. Among these, acetone vapor exhibited the highest sensitivity at 23.98% for 1000 ppm, compared to 6.37% for NH3 and 7.16% for ethanol. The response and recovery times for acetone vapor were 50 and 22 minutes, respectively. All the samples were measured for three adsorption and desorption cycles to study the repetition of data. The saturated voltage of the sample after adsorbing the gas slightly increases in each cycle with the time for each vapor.
Keywords
Sri Lankan Graphite; Gas Sensors; Gas Sensitivity; Doctor Blade Method
Citations
IRE Journals:
Ilukkumbure Gedara Prishantha Neel Karunasena, Chathuranga Rathnayake, Roshan Thotagamuge, S.P.A.U.K. Samarakoon, P. Samarasekara "Synthesis and Characterization of Thin Film Gas Sensors Using Sri Lankan Natural Graphite: Comparative Analysis of Sensitivity to Ammonia, Acetone, and Ethanol Vapors" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 9 Issue 7 2026 Page 2244-2252 https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I7-1713855
IEEE:
Ilukkumbure Gedara Prishantha Neel Karunasena, Chathuranga Rathnayake, Roshan Thotagamuge, S.P.A.U.K. Samarakoon, P. Samarasekara
"Synthesis and Characterization of Thin Film Gas Sensors Using Sri Lankan Natural Graphite: Comparative Analysis of Sensitivity to Ammonia, Acetone, and Ethanol Vapors" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 9(7) https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I7-1713855
About IRE Journals
IRE Journals is an open access online journals established with an aim to publish high quality of research work in various diciplines. We have more than 6 years in publications. Over 2500+ papers already published.
Important Links
For Authors
Volume 8:
Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4, Issue 5, Issue 6, Issue 7, Issue 8, Issue 9, Issue 10, Issue 11, Issue 12Volume 7:
Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4, Issue 5, Issue 6, Issue 7, Issue 8, Issue 9, Issue 10, Issue 11, Issue 12Volume 6:
Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4, Issue 5, Issue 6, Issue 7, Issue 8, Issue 9, Issue 10, Issue 11, Issue 12Volume 5:
Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4, Issue 5, Issue 6, Issue 7, Issue 8, Issue 9, Issue 10, Issue 11, Issue 12Volume 4:
Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4, Issue 5, Issue 6, Issue 7, Issue 8, Issue 9, Issue 10, Issue 11, Issue 12Volume 3:
Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4, Issue 5, Issue 6, Issue 7, Issue 8, Issue 9, Issue 10, Issue 11, Issue 12