Visible-light-induced photoelectric gas sensing to formaldehyde based on CdS nanoparticles/ZnO heterostructures

A visible-light-induced gas sensing element based on the heterostructures of CdS nanoparticles (NPs)/ZnO microcrystals has been successfully developed. Commercial ZnO microcrystals were coated with CdS nanoparticles by a sonochemical method to form the heterostructures. Compared with native CdS NPs,...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhai, J., Wang, D., Peng, L., Lin, Y., Li, Xin Yong, Xie, T.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier 2010
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/42423
Description
Summary:A visible-light-induced gas sensing element based on the heterostructures of CdS nanoparticles (NPs)/ZnO microcrystals has been successfully developed. Commercial ZnO microcrystals were coated with CdS nanoparticles by a sonochemical method to form the heterostructures. Compared with native CdS NPs, the as-obtained CdS NPs/ZnO showed enhanced photocurrent intensity. And the heterostructures-based element exhibited an excellent performance of photoelectric gas sensing to formaldehyde induced by visible-light. Moreover, the photocurrent intensity and sensitivity to formaldehyde were controllable by tuning the amount of CdS NPs attached on the surface of ZnO microcrystals. A possible explanation on the sensing mechanism has been proposed. In addition, the gas sensing element possessed good reproducibility. Our results demonstrate that the heterostructures of CdS NPs/ZnO is an efficient and promising material for visible-light-induced photoelectric gas sensors working at room temperature. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.