Facile synthesis of SnO2–ZnO core–shell nanowires for enhanced ethanol-sensing performance

•Simple route to prepare core–shell SnO2–ZnO nanowires gas sensors was demonstrated.•Good ethanol sensing performance of the core–shell SnO2–ZnO nanowires was obtained.•The design of core–shell nanowires is a powerful tool to control the selectivity of gas sensors.•The enhanced gas-sensing characteristics are attributed to the thin ZnO shell layer.

The design of core–shell heteronanostructures is powerful tool to control both the gas selectivity and the sensitivity due to their hybrid properties. In this work, the SnO2–ZnO core–shell nanowires (NWs) were fabricated via two-step process comprising the thermal evaporation of the single crystalline SnO2 NWs core and the spray-coating of the grainy polycrystalline ZnO shell for enhanced ethanol sensing performance. The as-obtained products were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and photoluminescence. The ethanol gas-sensing properties of pristine SnO2 and ZnO–SnO2 core–shell NW sensors were studied and compared. The gas response to 500 ppm ethanol of the core–shell NW sensor increased to 33.84, which was 12.5-fold higher than that of the pristine SnO2 NW sensor. The selectivity of the core–shell NW sensor also improved. The response to 100 ppm ethanol was about 14.1, whereas the response to 100 ppm liquefied petroleum gas, NH3, H2, and CO was smaller, and ranged from 2.5 to 5.3. This indicates that the core–shell heterostructures have great potential for use as gas sensing materials.