Design of hollow dodecahedral Cu2O nanocages for ethanol gas sensing

P-type metal oxide semiconductors with special morphology have received high expectation for their potential application in gas sensors. We have synthesized hollow dodecahedral Cu2O nanocages with exposed (1 1 1) planes by a simple solution growth approach at room temperature. Characterization results indicate that the diameters of Cu2O nanocages are about 200 nm. Gas sensing performance of the Cu2O nanocages is investigated towards ethanol gas. Remarkably, the response of Cu2O reaches 4.6 at a low working temperature of 250 °C when the concentration is 100 ppm. The unique structure of Cu2O benefits the sensing performance owing to its active (1 1 1) planes.