TY - JOUR
T1 - Sustainable Conversion of Corncob Biomass Waste into High Performance Carbon Materials for Detection of VOCs at Room Temperature
AU - Magagula, Lindokuhle P.
AU - Masemola, Clinton M.
AU - Motaung, Tshwafo E.
AU - Moloto, Nosipho
AU - Linganiso-Dziike, Ella C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the authors.
PY - 2025/1
Y1 - 2025/1
N2 - The demand for reliable, cost-effective, room temperature gas sensors with high sensitivity, selectivity, and short response times is rising, particularly for environmental monitoring, biomedicine, and agriculture. In this study, corncob waste-derived activated carbon (ACC) was combined with CuO nanoparticles and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to fabricate ACC/PVA/CuO composites with CuO loadings of 5, 10, and 15 wt.%. The CuO nanoparticles (average size: 21.79 ± 9.88 nm) were successfully incorporated into the ACC matrix, as confirmed by TEM, XRD, and N2 adsorption–desorption analyses. Increasing CuO content reduced the specific surface area due to pore blockage but enhanced the composites’ ethanol sensing performance. The ACC/PVA/CuO (15 wt.%) sensor exhibited the highest response and fastest recovery times (125 s and 130 s, respectively, at 100 ppm ethanol), outperforming other composites and pristine ACC. This improvement was attributed to surface defects and increased active sites promoting vapor adsorption and diffusion. These results demonstrate the potential of ACC/PVA/CuO as an effective ethanol sensor at room temperature.
AB - The demand for reliable, cost-effective, room temperature gas sensors with high sensitivity, selectivity, and short response times is rising, particularly for environmental monitoring, biomedicine, and agriculture. In this study, corncob waste-derived activated carbon (ACC) was combined with CuO nanoparticles and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to fabricate ACC/PVA/CuO composites with CuO loadings of 5, 10, and 15 wt.%. The CuO nanoparticles (average size: 21.79 ± 9.88 nm) were successfully incorporated into the ACC matrix, as confirmed by TEM, XRD, and N2 adsorption–desorption analyses. Increasing CuO content reduced the specific surface area due to pore blockage but enhanced the composites’ ethanol sensing performance. The ACC/PVA/CuO (15 wt.%) sensor exhibited the highest response and fastest recovery times (125 s and 130 s, respectively, at 100 ppm ethanol), outperforming other composites and pristine ACC. This improvement was attributed to surface defects and increased active sites promoting vapor adsorption and diffusion. These results demonstrate the potential of ACC/PVA/CuO as an effective ethanol sensor at room temperature.
KW - VOC detection
KW - activated carbon
KW - corncob residue
KW - ethanol sensing
KW - room temperature gas sensing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85214970379&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/molecules30010110
DO - 10.3390/molecules30010110
M3 - Article
C2 - 39795167
AN - SCOPUS:85214970379
SN - 1420-3049
VL - 30
JO - Molecules
JF - Molecules
IS - 1
M1 - 110
ER -