SnO₂–CuO nanocomposite thin film sensor for fast detection of H₂S gas

Abstract

SnO2 thin film and SnO2–CuO nanocomposite thin film sensors have been realised by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The prepared sensor structures have been studied for the sensing response characteristics in the presence of 20 ppm H2S gas. An enhancement in the response was observed from 1.4 × 102 for bare SnO2 thin film sensor to 4.3 × 103 for SnO2–CuO composite sensor with a fast response (t 90) time of about 2 s. The enhanced response has been attributed to the highly porous morphology of the films grown by PLD besides the modulation of space charge region due to spillover of H2S gas molecules on the surface of SnO2 film by the CuO catalyst.