Gas sensing properties of zinc oxide thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis

Abstract

Metal oxide semiconductors are widely employed as potential materials for the development of sensing devices for poisonous and inflammable gases. The change in resistivity of active material is exploited as a sensing parameter. A large volume of research work has been carried out in the last few decades on sensors and potential sensor materials. The advent of nanostructured materials has given a new impetus to the sensor research. Preparation and sensing response of zinc oxide thin films towards alcohol has been reported in this paper. Zinc oxide thin film has been prepared by using spray pyrolysis, using zinc acetate and methanol as the starting materials. The thin film was characterized for morphology and structure by using x-ray diffractometer (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) techniques. The results indicated that the ZnO particles are crystallized in the wurtzite hexagonal phase, which were well distributed in the films. Prepared zinc oxide thin film was exposed to different alcohols to check its gas sensing behaviour at different temperatures.