CuO-Decorated ZnO Hierarchical Nanostructures as Efficient and Established Sensing Materials for H(2)S Gas Sensors

Highly sensitive hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) gas sensors were developed from CuO-decorated ZnO semiconducting hierarchical nanostructures. The ZnO hierarchical nanostructure was fabricated by an electrospinning method following hydrothermal and heat treatment. CuO decoration of ZnO hierarchical structures was carried out by a wet method. The H(2)S gas-sensing properties were examined at different working temperatures using various quantities of CuO as the variable. CuO decoration of the ZnO hierarchical structure was observed to promote sensitivity for H(2)S gas higher than 30 times at low working temperature (200 °C) compared with that in the nondecorated hierarchical structure. The sensing mechanism of the hybrid sensor structure is also discussed. The morphology and characteristics of the samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis absorption, photoluminescence (PL), and electrical measurements.