Abstract
Metal oxide p-n heterojunction nanofibers (NFs) are among the most promising approaches to enhancing the efficiency of gas sensors. In this paper, we report the preparation of a series of p-NiO-loaded n-ZnO NFs, namely (1−x)ZnO-xNiO (x = 0.03, 0.05, 0.7, 0.1, and 0.15 wt%), for hydrogen gas sensing experiments. Samples were prepared through the electrospinning technique followed by a calcination process. The sensing experiments showed that the sample with 0.05 wt% NiO loading resulted in the highest sensing performance at an optimal sensing temperature of 200 °C. The sensing mechanism is discussed in detail and contributions of the p-n heterojunctions, metallization of ZnO and catalytic effect of NiO on the sensing enhancements of an optimized gas sensor are analyzed. This study demonstrates the possibility of fabricating high-performance H2 sensors through the optimization of p-type metal oxide loading on the surfaces of n-type metal oxides.
Highlights
Among various available gas sensors, metal oxides are one of the most promising gas sensors for sensing hydrogen gas [1]
Gas sensors fabricated from one-dimensional (1D) nanostructured metal oxides have become very popular in recent years based on their small size and large surface area, which results in numerous adsorption sites for target gases and facilitates rapid diffusion of gas molecules [3]
ZnO-based gas sensors with different morphologies have been reported for sensing of different gases
Summary
Among various available gas sensors, metal oxides are one of the most promising gas sensors for sensing hydrogen gas [1]. This stems from their advantages in terms of high sensitivity and stability, low fabrication costs, and simplicity of use [2]. ZnO is one of the most promising n-type oxides for gas sensing, based on its large band gap, high chemical and thermal stability, low price, high mobility of charge carriers, and the intrinsic sensitivity of ZnO [7,8,9]. Barreca et al used 1D assembly of ZnO nanostructures for detection of H2 and CH4 gases [12]. Comini et al used ZnO NWs for detection of ethanol gas [15]
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