Self-assembly of ZnO nanosheets into flower-like architectures and their gas sensing properties

Various zinc oxide with fancy architectures and desired sizes have been prepared for different applications. Well-defined flower-like ZnO architectures self-assembled by numerous ZnO nanosheets with the thickness of about 50 nm were successfully synthesized via a facile sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) assisted hydrothermal route, and the products were monodisperse and uniform. The possible formation mechanism was described as nucleation, growth and self-assembly of nanosheets. The products exhibited a high, reversible and fast response to ethanol gas, indicating that the flower-like ZnO architecture is a promising material for gas sensors. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.