Rapid and accurate detection of n-butanol in the environment is crucial owing to its negative effects on human health. Herein, gas sensors based on CoO@ZnO hollow-sphere-array thin films modified using Au particles are successfully prepared via template-assisted magnetron sputtering for detecting n-butanol. The best sensor performances are achieved when the thicknesses of the sputtered ZnO and CoO films are 60 and 1.2 nm, respectively, and the sputtering time of the Au particles is 10 s. Furthermore, the best sensor exhibits an exceptionally high response to an n-butanol concentration of 100 pm at 275 °C (R/R = 260), a short response/recovery time (1 s/92 s), a considerably lower limit of detection (R/R = 5.8 at n-butanol concentration = 100 ppb) as well as high selectivity and repeatability. The remarkable sensing performance of the proposed sensors can be mainly attributed to the charge transfer induced by the CoO–ZnO heterojunction formation and the catalytic and spillover effects of the Au particles. This study is important because it provides a simple preparation method for high-performance semiconductor gas sensors using magnetron sputtering, which would enable future large-scale and integrated preparation of high-performance gas sensors.

中文翻译：

---

模板辅助磁控溅射制备的基于Co3O4@ZnO空心球阵列薄膜的化学电阻式正丁醇气体传感器

由于正丁醇对人类健康有负面影响，快速准确地检测环境中的正丁醇至关重要。在此，通过模板辅助磁控溅射成功制备了基于金颗粒修饰的CoO@ZnO空心球阵列薄膜的气体传感器，用于检测正丁醇。当溅射 ZnO 和 CoO 薄膜的厚度分别为 60 和 1.2 nm、Au 颗粒的溅射时间为 10 s 时，可以获得最佳的传感器性能。此外，最好的传感器在 275 °C (R/R = 260) 下对 100 pm 的正丁醇浓度表现出极高的响应，响应/恢复时间短 (1 s/92 s)，检测（正丁醇浓度 = 100 ppb 时，R/R = 5.8）以及高选择性和重复性。所提出的传感器卓越的传感性能主要归因于CoO-ZnO异质结形成引起的电荷转移以及Au颗粒的催化和溢出效应。这项研究非常重要，因为它为利用磁控溅射的高性能半导体气体传感器提供了一种简单的制备方法，这将为未来高性能气体传感器的大规模、集成制备提供可能。