Formaldehyde gas sensing studies of nanostructured ZnO thin films synthesised using spray pyrolysis

Formaldehyde gas sensing studies of nanostructured ZnO thin films synthesised using spray pyrolysis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Formaldehyde gas sensing studies of nanostructured ZnO thin films synthesised using spray pyrolysis Sameena Begum, Pothukanuri Nagaraju, S Sarika Yadav This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9279189/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Zinc oxide thin film (ZnO) gas sensor is prepared by an inexpensive spray pyrolysis method on a pre-cleaned glass substrate using optimised deposition parameters. The structural, morphological, and chemical characteristics of the prepared film was investigated with XRD, TEM, FESEM, XPS, and Raman spectroscopy. The hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure of the synthesized ZnO particles was verified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Using the Scherrer equation, the average crystallite size of the prepared sample was determined to be 21.9 nm. Raman spectroscopy, FESEM, and TEM analysis agreed with the XRD findings. XPS investigations also suggests the composition of zinc oxide in the deposited film. Gas sensing properties of zinc oxide film is investigated with a static liquid distribution approach. The sensor was notably selective towards formaldehyde gas at ambient temperature and showed good stability, response and recovery characteristics of 60 and 25 seconds, respectively, after being subjected to 5 ppm of formaldehyde at room temperature. This proves that the ZnO thin film of superior quality was successfully prepared for the detection toxic formaldehyde. ZnO gas sensor crystallite size spray pyrolysis thin film response Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 16 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 03 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 03 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 31 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9279189","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":627532433,"identity":"a03492dd-f918-4aa1-8a7a-8f1bbff298bb","order_by":0,"name":"Sameena Begum","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Bharatiya Engineering Science \u0026 Technology Innovation University Gownibaripalli","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sameena","middleName":"","lastName":"Begum","suffix":""},{"id":627532436,"identity":"ae23d992-00ce-4624-8d3e-6f50ab8e6526","order_by":1,"name":"Pothukanuri Nagaraju","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABFklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPACNgYGCSCVwMAgB+IeeECKFmOwlgSiLJKAUIkNDBC9OIE5+/GLnytq+BK3S/cYf3hQU5c+P+zwQ6AtdnK6Ddi1WPbkFEueOcaWuHPOGTOJhGOHczfeTjMAakk2NjuAXYvBgZwEyQY2tsQNN3LMgK46kLtxdgJIy4HEbbi0nH+T/LPhH1iL8YfEhrp0w9npH/BruZF+TLKxDazFQCKxgTlBXjqHgC033rBZNvaxGe+ckVYG8ovhBumcggMJBnj8cj798c2Gb8dkt0skb/74o6ZOXn52+uYPHyrs5HBpYWDgMQASxxgMGDgMoAECJnEpBwH2B0CiBqgGzGBgkG/Ap3oUjIJRMApGIgAAt+9qeawk96IAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Sreenidhi University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pothukanuri","middleName":"","lastName":"Nagaraju","suffix":""},{"id":627532439,"identity":"3fd243bd-281e-4b25-aadf-b86d633cb0c0","order_by":2,"name":"S Sarika Yadav","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kommuri Prathap Reddy Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"S","middleName":"Sarika","lastName":"Yadav","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-31 11:38:44","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9279189/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9279189/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107869511,"identity":"669945a0-7f75-4de4-b478-915fd40e321a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-27 07:37:13","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":882946,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Sameenapaperforsubmission.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9279189/v1_covered_06b72b8a-01b3-48bb-b59a-eafd5e7f3b76.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Formaldehyde gas sensing studies of nanostructured ZnO thin films synthesised using spray pyrolysis","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-sensors","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Sensors](https://link.springer.com/journal/44397)","snPcode":"44397","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/44397/3","title":"Discover Sensors","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"ZnO, gas sensor, crystallite size, spray pyrolysis, thin film, response","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9279189/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9279189/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eZinc oxide thin film (ZnO) gas sensor is prepared by an inexpensive spray pyrolysis method on a pre-cleaned glass substrate using optimised deposition parameters. 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