Study on room temperature gas-sensing performance of CuO film-decorated ordered porous ZnO composite by In ₂ O ₃ sensitization

Abstract

For the first time, ordered mesoporous ZnO nanoparticles have been synthesized by a template method. The electroplating after chemical plating method was creatively used to form copper film on the surface of the prepared ZnO, and then a CuO film-decorated ordered porous ZnO composite (CuO/ZnO) was obtained by a high-temperature oxidation method. In₂O₃ was loaded into the prepared CuO film-ZnO by an ultrasonic-assisted method to sensitize the room temperature gas-sensing performance of the prepared CuO/ZnO materials. The doped In₂O₃ could effectively improve the gas-sensing properties of the prepared materials to nitrogen oxides (NO <i>_x</i> ) at room temperature. The 1% In₂O₃ doped CuO/ZnO sample (1 wt% In₂O₃-CuO/ZnO) showed the best gas-sensing properties whose response to 100 ppm NO <i>_x</i> reached 82%, and the detectable minimum concentration reached 1 ppm at room temperature. The prepared materials had a good selectivity, better response, very low detection limit, and high sensitivity to NO <i>_x</i> gas at room temperature, which would have a great development space in the gas sensor field and a great research value.