Low concentration NO gas sensing under ambient environment using Cu2O nanoparticle modified ZnO nanowires

We report on the excellent NO gas sensing performance of Cu2O nanoparticle (NP) modified ZnO nanowires (NWs) under ambient environment. ZnO NWs are grown on a Si substrate with electrodes using a solution method and modified with Cu2O NPs by photoreduction. To facilitate crystallization, the NWs are also subjected to thermal annealing. By monitoring the sensor current, the response of the NP modified NW sensor at 1 ppm NO is 353%, whereas the response of the unmodified NW sensor is 25%. A response of 8% has also been achieved at 60 ppb, showing the good potential of the NP modified ZnO NWs for low concentration NO sensing.