Characteristics modification of ZnO/CuO composite films by doping rare-earth element Dy for real-time hydration level monitoring

Abstract

In this study, we focused on the efficacy and utility of nanostructured pristine and rare-earth (RE) element dysprosium (Dy) doped ZnO/CuO composite thin films in the implementation of real-time monitoring of sweat as a biological fluid. ZnO/CuO composite films were grown by using a simple and inexpensive SILAR method and their surface morphological, structural, and real-time monitoring of hydration level characteristics was investigated. The surface topographical and structural analyses showed that the primary physical characteristics of the ZnO/CuO nanostructures changed after the substitution of dysprosium. Sweat sensing response examinations presented encouraging sensing behavior at room condition. Hence, this research represents the development of low power sweat sensing material with improved sensor characteristics, which could be utilized in real-time hydration level monitoring, with advantage of simple and low-cost fabrication techniques.