Incorporation of Au Nanoparticles on ZnO/ZnS Core Shell Nanostructures for UV Light/Hydrogen Gas Dual Sensing Enhancement

Abstract

ZnO/ZnS nanocomposite-based nanostructures exhibit dual light and gas sensing capabilities. To further boost the light/dual sensing properties, gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) were incorporated into the core-shell structures. Multiple material characterizations revealed that Au NPs were successfully well spread and decorated on ZnO/ZnS nanostructures. Furthermore, our findings show that the addition of Au NPs could enhance both 365 nm UV light sensing and hydrogen gas sensing in terms of light/gas sensitivity and light/gas response time. We postulate that the optimization of gas/light dual sensing capability may result from the induced electric field and inhabitation of electron-hole recombination. Owing to their compact size, simple fabrication, and stable response, ZnO/ZnS/Au NPs-based light/gas dual sensors are promising for future extreme environmental monitoring.