NiO decorated CeO(2) nanostructures as room temperature isopropanol gas sensors

Heterostructures developed using CeO(2) show promising peculiarities in the field of metal oxide gas sensors due to the great variations in the resistance during the adsorption and desorption processes. NiO decorated CeO(2) nanostructures (NiO/CeO(2)) were synthesized via a facile two-step process. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results revealed the perfect decoration of NiO on the CeO(2) surface. The porous nature of the NiO/CeO(2) sensor surface was confirmed from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Gas sensing studies of pristine CeO(2) and NiO/CeO(2) sensors were performed under room conditions and enhanced gas sensing properties for the NiO/CeO(2) sensor towards isopropanol were observed. Decoration of NiO on the CeO(2) surface develops a built-in potential at the interface of NiO and CeO(2) which played a vital role in the superior sensing performance of the NiO/CeO(2) sensor. Sharp response and recovery times (15 s/19 s) were observed for the NiO/CeO(2) sensor towards 100 ppm isopropanol at room temperature. Long-term stability of the NiO/CeO(2) sensor was also studied and discussed. From all the results it is concluded that the decoration of NiO on the CeO(2) surface could significantly enhance the sensing performance and it has great advantages in designing best performing isopropanol gas sensors.