Ag-decorated ZnO/SnO2 nanofibers-based gas sensor for n-butanol sensing

The highly sensitive and rapid detection of n-butanol holds great significance for environmental protection and human health. In this study, Ag-decorated ZnO/SnO 2 (AZSO) nanofibers were fabricated via electrospinning followed by an Ag decoration process. Compared with the undecorated ZnO/SnO 2 nanofibers (ZSO), the as-prepared AZSO sensor exhibited enhanced gas-sensing performance, as its response to 30 ppm n-butanol increased from 29.68 to 37.15. Meanwhile, at the optimal operating temperature of 150 °C, it demonstrates an ultra-fast response time of only 1 s, and its recovery time is drastically shortened from 1776 s to 227 s. In addition, AZSO exhibited stronger selectivity towards n-butanol, accompanied by excellent repeatability and long-term stability. The enhanced gas-sensing performance of AZSO was attributed to the synergistic effect of the Ag spillover effect, the ZnO/SnO 2 n-n heterojunction, and the interfacial electron transfer.