Room temperature highly selective ethanol sensing behavior of hydrothermally prepared Te–V2O5 nanorod nanocomposites

Tellurium–vanadium pentoxide (Te–V2O5) nanorod nanocomposites were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route. It is found that the Te nanorods are dispersed among the V2O5 nanorods. Gas sensing measurements show that the heterostructured nanorods have a higher and more stable response with better selectivity towards ethanol as compared to ammonia and propylamine gases at room temperature, and they also possess the lower detection threshold and relatively shorter response time compared with that of pure V2O5 nanorods. This enhanced stable and selective sensing behavior is due to the unique character of the one-dimensional nanostructured geometry and a p–n junction of the composite, and it may be explained on the basis of energy band model.