Synthesis of SnO2-ZnO heterostructured nanofibers for enhanced ethanol gas-sensing performance

SnO2-ZnO hetero-nanofibers were fabricated by a facile electrospinning method and calcination in this study. The SnO2-ZnO nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The gas sensor prepared by the SnO2-ZnO hetero-nanofibers revealed better ethanol sensing performance than pure ZnO and pure SnO2 nanofibers, good stability and excellent selectivity at the optimum temperature of 300 degrees C. The response and recovery time to 100 ppm ethanol were about 25 s and 9 s, respectively. The growth mechanism of the hetero-nanofibers was discussed, as well as the ethanol adsorption-desorption mechanism. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.