Sputtered nanostructured single crystalline cu doped ZnO thin films for carbon monoxide gas sensing applications

In the present work, gas sensing properties of Copper (Cu) doped Zinc Oxide (ZnO) thin films have been investigated. The nanostructured ZnO and Cu doped ZnO (CZO) thin films have been synthesized using DC magnetron sputtering on glass substrates. The effect of hydrophobicity and surface roughness of the CZO thin films on the carbon monoxide (CO) gas sensing performance have been examined. Fast response time (47 sec) and an optimum recovery time (~ 86 sec) have been witnessed at an adequate temperature of 250°C for the samples having contact angle ~ 131o and surface roughness ~ 14.86 nm. Hydrophobicity of the surface provides short recovery time by opposing the existence of water-vapour on the surface. Copyright © 2018 VBRI Press.