In order to develop highly efficient H2S gas sensor at low working temperature, a kind of novel Ce-doped ZnCo2O4 hollow microspheres (Ce/ZnCo2O4 HMS) was successfully synthesized using a template-free one-pot method, that had a sensitive response toward H2S in this paper. The microstructure and morphology of the materials were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The gas-sensing performance of the composites was investigated, showing that the ZnCo2O4 doped with 6 mol% Ce had the highest response to 20 ppm H2S at low operating temperature of 160 °C with a response value of 67.42, which was about 2 times higher than that of original ZnCo2O4. The prepared Ce/ZnCo2O4 HMS sensors in response to H2S exhibited a linear range of 0.1 ~ 200 ppm with a low detection limit of 0.1 ppm under the condition of ambient humidity of 45% and ambient temperature of 20 °C. Meanwhile, it also possessed good selectivity, repeatability and reproducibility. The response value of the sensor decreased by 5.32% after 7 months of continuous monitoring of H2S in atmospheric environment of pig farm, indicating that the sensor had a long-term stability and continuous service life with important application prospects.

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