Improving acetone gas selectivity and UV sensing inSnO₂/ZnO nanostructured sensors by changing its compositions

Abstract With the development of smart technology and the Internet of Things (IoT), the need for enhanced gas and UV sensors is increasing. One of the available solutions is the development of metal-oxide-semiconductor sensors, which is necessary to address the weaknesses of these sensors. In this study, by using ZnO/SnO 2 nanostructures and an easy method, it has been shown that ZnO/SnO 2 nanostructured sensors can be effectively improved for selective sensing of the acetone gas and UV light sensing. The ratio of the ZnO/SnO 2 nanostructure precursors was varied, and the synthesized samples were analyzed using SEM, XRD, PL, and FTIR. Subsequently, gas and optical sensing tests were conducted. The results show that by changing the ratio of precursors and exciting the sensors with the help of UV light, the operating temperature of the sensing was reduced to 100 °C with a 10 times greater response to acetone gas than other gases, and the fabricated sensor shows an excellent selectivity for acetone gas sensing. For another combination of precursors of this structure, the sensitivity of UV light detection increased and the response time of the UV sensor at 365 nm wavelength improved, making it possible to develop a high-performance UV sensor with a long life. In fact, by changing the precursors of the nanostructured materials that cause changes in their structure, different sensor behaviors were observed, and this difference in behavior is significant in terms of the application fields of the sensors.