Facile synthesis of size-controlled FeO nanoparticle-decorated carbon nanotubes for highly sensitive HS detection.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) is one of the most plentiful toxic gases in a real-life and causes a collapse of the nervous system and a disturbance of the cellular respiration. Therefore, highly sensitive and selective HS gas sensor systems are becoming increasingly important in environmental monitoring and safety. In this report, we suggest the facile synthesis method of the FeO particles uniformly decorated on carbon nanotubes (FeO@CNT) to detect HS gas using oxidative co-polymerization (pyrrole and 3-carboxylated pyrrole) and heat treatment. The as prepared FeO@CNT-based sensor electrode is highly sensitive (as low as 1 ppm), selective and stable to HS gas at 25 °C, which shows promise for operating in medical diagnosis and environment monitoring. Excellent performance of the FeO@CNT is due to the unique morphology of the nanocomposites made from uniformly dispersed FeO nanoparticles on the carbon surface without aggregation.