High Performance Gas Sensor Based on ZnO/CuO Heterostructures

The ZnO/CuO heterostructures were synthesized by two simple methods. The structural and morphological characterizations of the as-deposited samples were well evaluated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The gas sensing characteristics of the pure CuO and ZnO/CuO heterostructure were discussed. By comparison, the ZnO/CuO heterostructure sensor synthesized by water bath deposition has a higher response than pure CuO obviously. At the optimal working temperature, the response of the CuO-ZnO gas sensor to ethanol (100 ppm) reached 31.2, which was about 4.3 times higher than the original CuO nanoparticles. Besides, this heterojunction also showed good selectivity towards ethanol. The ZnO/CuO heterostructure provides a feasible method for preparing high performance ethanol sensor