Temperature and microstructural dependence of the sensitivity of heterocontacts between zinc oxide and copper oxide in reducing environments

Ceramic gas sensing elements have assumed great importance due to their low cost, durability and stability at extreme temperature or in chemically corrosive atmospheres. In this regard, the performance of copper oxide-zinc oxide heterojunction gas sensors prepared from porous pellets and from dense pellets is compared by analyzing the current voltage characteristics and resistance time measurements. The responses demonstrate that the hydrogen sensitivity of the heterojunction constructed from porous pellets is significantly greater than that of the heterocontact between dense pellets of the same composition.