pn-Heterojunction of the SWCNT/ZnO nanocomposite for temperature dependent reaction with hydrogen.

A hydrogen breath test is a non-invasive and safe diagnostic tool to explore the functional gastrointestinal disorders. For the diagnosis of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth syndrome as well as carbohydrate malabsorption such as fructose, lactose, and sorbitol malabsorption, a hydrogen breath test is considered one of the gold criterions. Since the more sensitive hydrogen sensor enables the more accurate prediction about the disease, many efforts have been to the development of the high performance H2 sensor. Herein, we fabricate the pn-junction type composite sensors using single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and zinc oxide and thoroughly investigate their hydrogen sensing properties at various temperatures. We discuss the origin of sensing performance enhancement mechanism in the composite sensors, while the composite sensor with high H2 sensing performance, linearity, repeatability, and selectivity can be prepared.