Hydrothermal synthesis of SnO2-CuO composite nanoparticles as a fast-response ethanol gas sensor.

In this work, the SnO 2 -CuO composite nanoparticles are fabricated as an ethanol gas sensor by one-step hydrothermal method, which is a core-shell structure composed of tetragonal tin oxide and monoclinic copper oxide. As ethanol gas sensor, the SnO 2 -CuO composite nanoparticles show excellent gas sensitivity and good selectivity to ethanol when deionized water as the hydrothermal solvent and Sn: Cu = 1: 1, and it have a small response recovery time of approximately 4 and 10 s respectively, and response value has a good linear relationship with the ethanol concentration between 50 and 300 ppm. The outstanding gas sensor character of the SnO 2 -CuO composite nanoparticles would be mainly attributed to special heterostructure and synergistic effect between tin oxide and copper oxide. [Display omitted] • A simple hydrothermal method was used to synthesize composite SnO 2 -CuO nanoparticles in one step. • The gas sensor made of composite SnO 2 -CuO has excellent selectivity for ethanol gas. • The response value to 100 ppm ethanol reached 8.0, and its response/recovery time were 4 s and 10 s, respectively. • The response value of the gas sensor has a good linear relationship with the ethanol concentration between 50 and 300 ppm. • The molar ratio of Sn and Cu has a significant impact on gas sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]