This work reports a low-cost, microwave-assisted wet chemistry synthesis of zinc antimonate (ZnSb2O6) powders with a trirutile structure, yielding highly homogeneous, nanometric particles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of the trirutile phase with lattice parameters of a = 4.664 Å and c = 9.263 Å, and an estimated crystallite size of 42 nm. UV–vis spectroscopy revealed a bandgap of 3.35 eV. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that ethylenediamine, as a chelating agent, formed porous microstructures of microrods and cuboids, ideal for enhanced gas adsorption. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis revealed a specific surface area of 6 m2/g and a total pore volume of 0.0831 cm3/g, indicating a predominantly mesoporous structure. The gas sensing properties of ZnSb2O6 pellets were evaluated in CO and C3H8 atmospheres at 100, 200, and 300 °C. The material exhibited high sensitivity at 300 °C, where the maximum responses were 5.86 for CO at 300 ppm and 1.04 for C3H8 at 500 ppm. The enhanced sensitivity at elevated temperatures was corroborated by a corresponding decrease in electrical resistivity. Furthermore, the material demonstrated effective photocatalytic activity, achieving up to 60% degradation of methylene blue and 50% of malachite green after 300 min of UV irradiation, with the process following first-order reaction kinetics. These results highlight that ZnSb2O6 synthesized by this method is a promising bifunctional material for gas sensing and photocatalytic applications.
The dynamic response in propane atmospheres at different voltages was investigated for samples made from powders of the semiconductor oxide CoSb2O6 synthesized using the microwave-assisted colloidal method. Powders of the compound calcined at 700 °C were studied with X-ray diffraction, confirming the CoSb2O6 crystalline phase. The microstructural characteristics of the oxide were analyzed using scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM), revealing a high abundance of nanorods, nanoplates, and irregular nanoparticles. These nanoparticles have an average size of ~21 nm. Using UV-Vis, absorption bands associated with the electronic transitions of the CoSb2O6’s characteristic bonds were identified, which yielded a bandgap value of ~1.8 eV. Raman spectroscopy identified vibrational bands corresponding to the oxide’s Sb–O and Co–O bonds. Dynamic sensing tests at 300 °C confirmed the material’s p-type semiconductor behavior, showing an increase in resistance upon exposure to propane. Critically, these tests revealed that the sensor’s baseline resistance and overall response are tunable by the applied voltage (1–12 V), with the highest sensitivity observed at the lowest voltages. This establishes a clear relationship between the electrical operating parameters and the sensing performance. The samples exhibited good operational stability, capacity, and efficiency, along with short response and recovery times. Extra-dry air (1500 cm3/min) was used as the carrier gas to stabilize the films’ surfaces during propane detection. These findings lead us to conclude that the CoSb2O6 could serve as an excellent gas detector.
In this paper, an RGB image with is separated by its channels, obtaining an image in each color channel , and . The Vectorial Image Representation on the Texture Space (VIR-TS) transform is calculated for each channel; ergo, each image is represented with a given vector, , and . Employing the , , and vectors in a multi-class classifier, a database of RGB images was identified with the aim of verifying the classification efficiency of the VIR-TS transform. Based on the experimental results, the VIR-TS technique presents high efficiency when the noise is not added to the class and when the signal-to-noise ratio is high. For both instances, the efficiency presented is 100%. Nonetheless, if the class noise is high, the efficiency diminishes from 100%, to 95%, to 90% until it decreases to 10%. Based on the results obtained, the VIR-TS transform can be efficiently applied for the development of security systems and access control and can also be implemented in computer vision systems for medical diagnosis, drones, etc.
In industrial combustion processes, high concentrations of propane (C3H8) gas are employed. Therefore, developing gas-detecting devices that operate under high concentrations, elevated temperatures, and short response times is crucial. This paper presents the design, simulation, and construction of a novel propane (C3H8) gas detector. The design was based on the dynamic electrical response of a gas sensor fabricated with cobalt antimoniate (CoSb2O6). The simulation considered the device structure and programming criteria, and the final prototype was constructed according to the sensor response, design parameters, and operating principles. Design, simulation, and fabrication results were in concordance, confirming the correct operation of the detector at high gas concentrations. A mathematical model was derived from the sensor’s electrical response, establishing a resistance value that allowed a two-second response time. This resistance was used to adapt the signal between the gas sensor and the PIC18F2550 microcontroller. Input/output signals, safety criteria, and functionality principles were considered in the programming device. The resulting propane (C3H8) gas detector operates at 300 °C, detects high C3H8 concentrations, and achieves a 2 s response time, making it ideal for industrial applications where combustion monitoring is essential.