Synthesis of Cu2O-Modified Reduced Graphene Oxide for NO2 Sensors

Manman Huang; Yanyan Wang; Shuyang Ying; Zhekun Wu; Weixiao Liu; Da Chen; Changsi Peng

doi:10.3390/s21061958

Synthesis of Cu₂O-Modified Reduced Graphene Oxide for NO₂ Sensors

Sensors (Basel). 2021 Mar 11;21(6):1958. doi: 10.3390/s21061958.

Authors

Manman Huang^{1

2}, Yanyan Wang^{1

2}, Shuyang Ying^{1

2}, Zhekun Wu^{1

2}, Weixiao Liu^{1

2}, Da Chen³, Changsi Peng^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
² Key Lab of Advanced Optical Manufacturing Technologies of Jiangsu Province & Key Lab of Modern Optical Technologies of Education Ministry of China, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
³ College of Electronics, Communications, and Physics, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China.

Abstract

Nowadays, metal oxide semiconductors (MOS)-reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites have attracted significant research attention for gas sensing applications. Herein, a novel composite material is synthesized by combining two p-type semiconductors, i.e., Cu₂O and rGO, and a p-p-type gas sensor is assembled for NO₂ detection. Briefly, polypyrrole-coated cuprous oxide nanowires (PPy/Cu₂O) are prepared via hydrothermal method and combined with graphene oxide (GO). Then, the nanocomposite (rGO/PPy/Cu₂O) is obtained by using high-temperature thermal reduction under Ar atmosphere. The results reveal that the as-prepared rGO/PPy/Cu₂O nanocomposite exhibits a maximum NO₂ response of 42.5% and is capable of detecting NO₂ at a low concentration of 200 ppb. Overall, the as-prepared rGO/PPy/Cu₂O nanocomposite demonstrates excellent sensitivity, reversibility, repeatability, and selectivity for NO₂ sensing applications.

Keywords: NO2 sensing; cuprous oxide nanowires; gas sensors; p-type semiconductor; polypyrrole; reduced graphene oxide (rGO).