Facile Fabrication and\nEnhanced Sensing Properties\nof Hierarchically Porous CuO Architectures

Abstract

Hierarchically porous CuO architectures were successfully\nfabricated\nvia copper basic carbonate precursor obtained with a facile hydrothermal\nroute. The shape of the precursor is preserved after its conversion\nto porous CuO architectures by calcination. The obtained CuO are systemically\ncharacterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy,\ntransmission electron microscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller\nN₂ adsorption–desorption analysis. The results reveal\nthat hierarchical CuO microspheres are monoclinic structure and are\nassembled by porous single-crystal sub-microplatelets. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller\nN₂ adsorption–desorption analysis indicates that\nthe obtained CuO has a surface area of 12.0 m²/g with pore\nsize of around 30 nm. The gas sensing performance of the as-prepared\nhierarchical CuO microspheres were investigated towards a series of\ntypical organic solvents and fuels. They exhibit higher sensing response\nthan that of commercial CuO powder. Their sensing properties can be\nfurther improved by loading of Ag nanoparticles on them, suggesting\ntheir potential applications in gas sensors.