Enhanced H2S sensing characteristics of SnO2 nanowires functionalized with CuO

The CuO-functionalized SnO₂ nanowire (NW) sensors were fabricated by depositing a slurry containing SnO₂ NWs on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-guided substrate and subsequently dropping Cu nitrate aqueous solution. The CuO coating increased the gas responses to 20 ppm H₂S up to 74-fold. The R_a/R_g value of the CuO-doped SnO₂ NWs to 20 ppm H₂S was as high as 809 at 300 °C, while the cross-gas responses to 5 ppm NO₂, 100 ppm CO, 200 ppm C₂H₅OH, and 100 ppm C₃H₈ were negligibly low (1.5–4.0). Moreover, the 90% response times to H₂S were as short as 1–2 s at 300–400 °C. The selective detection of H₂S and enhancement of the gas response were attributed to the uniform distribution of the sensitizer (CuO) on the surface of the less agglomerated network of the SnO₂ NWs.