Synthesis of SnO2–ZnO heterostructured nanofibers for enhanced ethanol gas-sensing performance

SnO2–ZnO hetero-nanofibers were fabricated by a facile electrospinning method and calcination in this study. The SnO2–ZnO nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The gas sensor prepared by the SnO2–ZnO hetero-nanofibers revealed better ethanol sensing performance than pure ZnO and pure SnO2 nanofibers, good stability and excellent selectivity at the optimum temperature of 300 °C. The response and recovery time to 100 ppm ethanol were about 25 s and 9 s, respectively. The growth mechanism of the hetero-nanofibers was discussed, as well as the ethanol adsorption–desorption mechanism.