Room temperature detection of low-concentration H2S based on CuO functionalized ZnFe2O4 porous spheres

Abstract

Room temperature H2S gas sensor with low detection limit is necessary for practical application. In this work, ZnFe2O4 was synthesized through a simple solvothermal method, and then CuO was decorated onto the surface of ZnFe2O4 via a modified metal organic framework synthesis method. After a series of characterization methods, it was found that CuO/ZnFe2O4 had porous nanosphere morphology. Gas sensing measurements indicating that the synthesized CuO/ZnFe2O4 porous spheres exhibited excellent H2S sensing performance under room temperature, including high sensitivity under low concentration (less than 10 ppm), excellent selectivity, low limit of detection (0.1 ppm), good repeatability, and fast response/recovery time. The sensing mechanism was discussed in detail, which is mainly contributed to the sensitization effect of CuO. This work provides a new strategy for constructing room temperature H2S gas sensor based on ZnFe2O4.