Nanocomposites of ZnO Nanorods In-Situ Grown on Graphitic Carbon Nitride for Ethanol Sensing

ZnO nanorods/graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposites were prepared using a two-step seed method. Characterizations including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis confirmed that a well-designed 1D ZnO on 2D g-C
₃
N
₄
nanostructure was achieved. Gas sensing test of the synthesized ZnO/g-C
₃
N
₄
nanocomposites concluded that g-C
₃
N
₄
essentially increased the sensitivity. The ZnO/g-C
₃
N
₄
nanocomposite tend to perform better to ethanol than other volatile organic compounds. The detection mechanism of the ZnO nanorods on g-C
₃
N
₄
has been discussed in detail.