An enhanced butanone sensing performance of Er0.7Yb0.3FeO3 material with the proper electronic structure

Er 1-x Yb x FeO 3 (x = 0, 0.3, 0.7, 1) sensing materials were synthesized via sol-gel method and annealing. The obtained porous Er 0.7 Yb 0.3 FeO 3 solid solution had the highest response value (Rg/Ra = 2.8) to 0.5 ppm butanone and the optimal selectivity compared with Er 1-x Yb x FeO 3 (x = 0, 0.7, 1) sensing materials. The combination of Er 3+ and Yb 3+ rare-earth elements in A site of AFeO 3 , and proper proportion of Er to Yb make contribution to gas sensing properties of Er 0.7 Yb 0.3 FeO 3 because they create the proper structure which has more electronic density of states near the Fermi level and the proper band-gap structure in Er 0.7 Yb 0.3 FeO 3 according to the first-principle calculation results and UV–Vis diffusion spectra. Therefore, the better electronic structure of Er 0.7 Yb 0.3 FeO 3 increases the amount of absorbed oxygen species on surface of materials, which is proved by the XPS results, and then enhances the response to target gas. In conclusion, Er 0.7 Yb 0.3 FeO 3 has the great potential as gas sensing material used in detecting butanone and other hazardous gases.