Ethanol sensing property of CuO thin film synthesised by CBD method

ABSTRACT

CuO-nanostructured thin films were successfully synthesised using very low-cost chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. The obtained films have been characterised using XRD, AFM and UV-VIS spectrophotometer. XRD data reveal formation of monoclinic CuO. AFM micrograph shows the morphology of the surface of the as deposited films. The surface roughness of the film increases with deposition time. Optical characterisation was done by UV-Vis spectroscopy and bandgap decrease with deposition time. Semiconducting metal oxides (SMO) are broadly used in gas sensors for sensing different gases. Their sensitivity can be increased by varying different parameters involved in deposition process. Increasing deposition time enhances the sensitivity remarkably and a significant high sensitivity of ~52% sensitivity in the presence of 1000 ppm ethanol is achieved for 45 min deposited film at a sensibly low temperature of 120°C.

KEYWORDS:

• CuO
• CBD
• structural analysis
• band gap
• gas sensing properties

Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges the Department of Physics, The University of Burdwan for providing instrumental facilities in their laboratory to carry out the work. The author is also thankful to AKPC Mahavidyalaya, Hooghly for their co-operation.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shampa Mondal

Dr. Shampa Mondal, Assistant Professor (Stage-II) of Physics and former Head of the Department of Physics, A.K.P.C Mahavidyalaya, Bengai, Hooghly, West Bengal. She has more than 12 years of experience of teaching Physics with several publication in various national and international journals. She was awarded Ph.D in 2013 from  Burdwan  University, West Bengal. She is actively engaged in research in the field of material science.