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<p>This work presents the ultraviolet (UV)-assisted sensing of ethanol utilizing sol–gel-derived ZnO/SnO<sub>2</sub> heterojunction thin films, designed for low-temperature operation with increased sensitivity. The bilayer heterostructure was fabricated through a cost-effective drop-coating method and subjected to annealing at a temperature of 550°C to improve crystallinity and contact at the interface. When exposed to 365&#xa0;nm UV light, the sensor exhibited a significant enhancement in ethanol response at room temperature compared to dark conditions, achieving a high response value of ~250% for 100&#xa0;ppm ethanol. The dynamic sensing characteristics showed stable and repeatable response–recovery cycles, which confirmed that the system worked well under UV light. Also, the device’s sensing performance remained the same for 70&#xa0;days, which shows that it is stable over time. Photoactivation creates more electron–hole pairs, which helps oxygen adsorb to the surface and changes the height of the heterojunction barrier, thereby amplifying resistance variation upon ethanol exposure. Overall, this work highlights the potential of optically modulated ZnO/SnO<sub>2</sub> heterojunction sensors to effectively operate at room temperature without external heating and shows a valid path for low-power and portable volatile organic compound (VOC) sensing applications.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>

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Photoactivated Room-Temperature Ethanol Sensing using Sol–Gel-Derived ZnO/SnO2 Heterojunction Thin Films

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月17日

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  • Siva Reddy Vanga,
  • V. Sarada,
  • Aniruddh Bahadur Yadav

摘要

This work presents the ultraviolet (UV)-assisted sensing of ethanol utilizing sol–gel-derived ZnO/SnO2 heterojunction thin films, designed for low-temperature operation with increased sensitivity. The bilayer heterostructure was fabricated through a cost-effective drop-coating method and subjected to annealing at a temperature of 550°C to improve crystallinity and contact at the interface. When exposed to 365 nm UV light, the sensor exhibited a significant enhancement in ethanol response at room temperature compared to dark conditions, achieving a high response value of ~250% for 100 ppm ethanol. The dynamic sensing characteristics showed stable and repeatable response–recovery cycles, which confirmed that the system worked well under UV light. Also, the device’s sensing performance remained the same for 70 days, which shows that it is stable over time. Photoactivation creates more electron–hole pairs, which helps oxygen adsorb to the surface and changes the height of the heterojunction barrier, thereby amplifying resistance variation upon ethanol exposure. Overall, this work highlights the potential of optically modulated ZnO/SnO2 heterojunction sensors to effectively operate at room temperature without external heating and shows a valid path for low-power and portable volatile organic compound (VOC) sensing applications.

Graphical Abstract