Gas sensing performance of hydrothermally grown CeO2–ZnO composites

The sensors based on cerium oxide–zinc oxide (CeO2–ZnO) composites were fabricated by using thick-film screen printing of hydrothermally grown powders. The structural, morphological investigations were carried out by using XRD, FESEM and TEM and these studies revealed that the synthesized products were grown in high-density and possessed well-crystallinity. Furthermore, the gas responses were evaluated towards the ethanol, acetone, liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and ammonia gases. The 2 wt% CeO2–ZnO composite exhibited excellent response of 94% at 325 °C and better selectivity towards ethanol with low response and recovery time as compared to pure ZnO and can stand as reliable sensor element for ethanol sensor related applications.