Effect of Cu doping on LPG sensing properties of soft chemically grown nano-structured ZnO thin film

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film was grown by soft chemical route. Structural studies of ZnO thin film reveal hexagonal structure. The c/a ratio increase as the concentration of Cu (dopant) enhanced. Elemental analysis reveals the presence of Cu ions into ZnO matrix, which substitute at Zn site into the nano-structured ZnO crystal as it was presented in ball and stick model. Successful tailoring of band gap by doping was found in optical study and presented in band diagram model. The gas response was found to be 1.15 for 200ppm of gas concentration. The response and recovery times were found to be ∼ 10 and 8 sec respectively.