Investigation of MoS₂ Nanosheet-Coated ZnO Thin Films for Hydrogen Gas Sensing Applications and the Effect of Temperature on the Enhanced Sensor Response

Hydrogen is considered to be the subsequent energy source derived from hydrogen evolution reactions. To ensure safety when using this harmful gas, hydrogen gas sensors with fast response and recovery rates, high sensor responses and stability are crucial. There is a need for alternative catalysts to reduce the use of expensive catalysts. A high surface to volume ratio with complete adsorption and desorption of ions makes molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) a promising catalyst in hydrogen gas sensors. A sensor with a zinc oxide (ZnO) active layer and an MoS₂ nanosheet (NS) catalyst bridged between the patterned silver (Ag) electrodes was fabricated. The experimental results were comparatively very good in two ways: 1) The sensor response was high, 2) the response rate for 100 ppm H₂ gas was 7 s, and the recovery rate was 23 s at 250 °C with extremely high error-free repeatability. The stability of the device was noteworthy. This cost-effective, high-performance device structure can be used as a practical industrial sensor.