High performance CuO nanorectangles-based room temperature flexible NH3 sensor

Here, we report the fabrication of a flexible room temperature ammonia gas sensor using surfactant-free hydrothermally synthesized copper oxide (CuO) nanorectangles. The structural analysis revealed that the CuO nanorectangles possessed monoclinic structure with an average length and breadth of 950 and 450 nm, respectively. The specific surface area of CuO nanorectangles was determined to be 29 m2/g. The sensor was fabricated on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate by screen printing technique. The room temperature ammonia sensing measurement exhibited significant response down to 5 ppm of ammonia with a quick response time of 90 s and recovered to baseline within 120 s. Maximum response of 0.99 was recorded for 100 ppm of ammonia. The rate constants for adsorption and desorption were estimated for 6.5 to 100 ppm of ammonia from the exponential conductance changes during response and recovery process. The sensor showed appreciable stability and reproducibility of the sensing performance over a period of three months. The fabricated flexible sensor demonstrated its ability to detect a wide range of ammonia concentrations at room temperature irrespective of the mechanical deformations applied. Thus, the fabricated sensor is promising and can be suitably employed for practical applications in environments where efficient gas sensing is vitally important