Tin (IV) sulfide nanorods as a new gas sensing material

Nanosized tin disulfide (SnS2) powder was synthesized through a simple and inexpensive process, then characterized via thermal, chemical, structural and morphological analyses. Conductometric gas sensors based on thick films of synthesized SnS2 were fabricated by means of screen-printing technology and their sensing properties tested vs. aldehydes, ketones and other gaseous compounds. We found that, at working temperature of 300 °C, the SnS2 films showed a strong selectivity vs. the carbonyl group of aldehydes and ketones, proving that they can efficiently be detected even in complex mixtures with interferers. In comparison with its oxide counterpart, SnS2 proved to be more stable, in term of the long-term drift of the signal. On the base of the obtained results, practical applications of such a sensor have been addressed.