Development of a novel H 2 S gas sensor based on CuO-doped SnO 2 hollow nanospheres

An effort has been made to develop a kind of CuO-doped SnO2 gas sensors for detecting trace amount of H2S gas at relative low temperature. The CuO-doped SnO2 hollow nanospheres are prepared from SnO2 hollow spheres (employing carbon nanospheres as temples) and Cu precursor by dipping method. The sensitivity and selectivity of the sensors based on the as-prepared CuO-doped SnO2 hollow nanospheres have been studied in details. It had been found that trace amount of H2S gas can be detected by the sensors at a relative low temperature of 35°C. The good sensing performances might be attributed to two factors. Firstly, using SnO2 hollow nanospheres might increase the chances of formation of p-n junctions between CuO nanoparticles and SnO2 nanoparticles. Secondly, the existence of porous structure would improve the active sensing surface area and enhance the efficient gas diffusion. In one word, CuO-doped SnO2 hollow nanospheres might be one of the most promising materials for detecting trace amount of H2S gas. ©2009 IEEE.