Fabrication and Characterization of Highly Sensitive Methane Sensor Based on Titanium Dioxide

Methane CH₄ is an important fault characteristic gas dissolved in power transformer oil with overheating or discharging fault. In this study, we reported the microstructure, growth mechanism and gas-sensing properties of hierarchical TiO₂ sensing materials synthesized by a simple and environment friendly hydrothermal method. We found that synthesized TiO₂ nanoflowers and nanorods sensing materials are typical anatase structure. Further research indicated that heating temperature and heating time play critical roles in synthesizing the nanoflowers. Compared with the synthesized TiO₂ nanorods, the obtained TiO₂ nanoflowers exhibited higher gas response as well as lower working temperature to CH₄. Moreover, its sensing mechanism was also discussed. All results demonstrate that the synthesized TiO₂ nanoflowers sensing materials may be a promising candidate for fabricating high-performance CH₄ sensor.