Advances in Doped ZnO Nanostructures for Gas Sensor

Gas sensors based on metal oxides semiconductor (MOS) have attracted extensive attention from both academic and industry. ZnO, as a typical MOS, exhibits potential applications in toxic gas detection, owning to its wide band gap, n-type transport characteristic and excellent electrical performance. Meanwhile, doping is an effective way to improve the sensing performance of ZnO materials. In this review, the effects of different types of doping on morphology, crystal structure, band gap and depletion layer of ZnO materials are comprehensively discussed. Theoretical analysis on the strategies for enhancing the sensing properties of ZnO is also provided. This review puts forward the reasonable insight for designing efficient n-type ZnO-based semiconductor oxide sensing materials.