Sonochemical synthesis and ppb H2S sensing performances of CuO nanobelts

CuO nanobelts were successfully prepared by a wet-chemical method assisted by ultrasonic irradiation. The structure characterizations for samples obtained under different ultrasonic time clearly demonstrated that Cu(OH)2 nanorods were firstly formed, and then transformed into one-dimensional (1D) Cu(OH)2/CuO core-shell nanostructures, and into CuO nanobelts with an increase of ultrasonic time through an interesting epitaxial growth process. The length and width of the nanobelts were 0.5-1.2 μm and 60 nm, respectively. The sensor response of the nanobelts was about 1.2-100 ppb H2S gas at a working temperature of 135 °C. Moreover, the CuO nanobelts had almost not response to 10 ppm H2, NH3, CO and CH4 at 135 °C. Thus, the CuO nanobelts are very promising for fabrication of H2S gas sensor.