Sustainable design on manufacturing V₂O₅ nanoparticles and analysis of their material properties for CO gas sensors

In this study, V₂O₅ nanoparticles were prepared using agate containers and balls in the ball milling technique. The structural, morphological, compositional, optical, and CO gas sensing properties of nanostructured V₂O₅ samples were thoroughly investigated. The primary objective of this research was to explore the correlation between the synthesis conditions and the properties of V₂O₅ materials prepared in an agate environment. The morphological study revealed that the ball milling technique altered the geometrical shapes and irregular grain sizes (ranging from 500 to 2000 nm) into nanograins (with sizes reduced to approximately 200 nm). Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) spectra confirmed the presence of vanadium and oxygen elements in the samples, and the EDS mapping demonstrated their homogeneous distribution. The formation of the orthorhombic crystal structure of V₂O₅ was observed through structural analysis. It was found that the intensity of the peaks and the crystallinity of the V₂O₅ samples decreased with increasing milling time. Optical properties showed an improvement in the bandgap of the V₂O₅ semiconductors at higher milling times, which can be attributed to lattice deformation effects. BET analysis indicated an increase in surface area and a reduction in pore size after the milling process. The CO gas sensing properties were associated with changes in the surface electrical resistance upon exposure to CO gas at various concentrations, with the milled samples showing a relatively high response. Therefore, nanostructured V₂O₅ has the potential for use in gas sensing applications. However, further investigations are required to optimize the CO gas sensing properties.