Nanocomposites of Carbon Nanotube (CNTs)/CuO with High Sensitivity to Organic Volatiles at Room Temperature

In order to enhance the sensitivity of carbon nanotube based chemical sensors at room temperature operation, CNTs/CuO nanocomposite was prepared under hydrothermal reaction condition. The resulted-product was characterized with TEM (transmission electron microscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction) and so on. A chemical prototype sensor was constructed based on CNTs/CuO nanocomposite and an interdigital electrode on flexible polymer substrate. The gas-sensing behavior of the sensor to some typical organic volatiles was investigated at room temperature operation. The results indicated that the carbon nanotube was dispersed well in CuO matrix, the CuO was uniformly coated on the surface of carbon nanotube, and the tubular structure of carbon nanotube was clearly observed. From morphology of TEM images, it can also be observed that a good interfacial adhesion between CNT and CuO matrix was formed, which maybe due to the results of strong interaction between CNTs with carboxyl groups and CuO containing some hydroxy groups. The CNTs/CuO nanocomposite showed dramatically enhanced sensitivity to some typical organic volatiles. This study would provide a simple, low-cost and general approach to functionalize the carbon nanotube. It is also in favor of developing chemical sensors with high sensitivity or catalysts with high activity to organic volatiles at low temperature. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of MRS-Taiwan