Sonochemical synthesis and ppb H2S sensing performances of CuO nanobelts

CuO nanobelts were successfully prepared by a wet-chemical method assisted by ultrasonic irradiation. The structure characterizations for samples obtained under different ultrasonic time clearly demonstrated that Cu(OH)2 nanorods were firstly formed, and then transformed into one-dimensional (1D) Cu(OH)2/CuO core–shell nanostructures, and into CuO nanobelts with an increase of ultrasonic time through an interesting epitaxial growth process. The length and width of the nanobelts were 0.5–1.2 μm and 60 nm, respectively. The sensor response of the nanobelts was about 1.2–100 ppb H2S gas at a working temperature of 135 °C. Moreover, the CuO nanobelts had almost not response to 10 ppm H2, NH3, CO and CH4 at 135 °C. Thus, the CuO nanobelts are very promising for fabrication of H2S gas sensor.