Designing and Fabrication of Sensor for Determination of n-Butyl Ether in Air Based on the Cataluminescence Action of n-Butyl Ether at the Surface of Nano-ZnO

A sensor for n-butyl ether was designed and fabricated based on the cataluminescence (CTL) action at the surface of nano-ZnO, and a method for rapid determination of n-butyl ether in air was proposed. At the detection wavelength of 440 nm, and under reaction temperature of 288℃, with air flowrate of 280 mL·min^-1, linear relationship between the CTL intensities and mass concentrations of n-butyl ether was found in the range of 30.0-2 000 mg·m^-3, with detection limit (3S/N) 12.0 mg·m^-3. The proposed method was applied to determination of n-butyl ether in air samples, giving results in consistency with those obtained by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).