Petal-like ZnO nanosheets were synthesized with zinc nitrate hexahydrate and sodium hydroxide as starting materials in ammonia and ethanol mixture solution. RuO2 modified ZnO nanosheets were also prepared by a calcination route. The as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy, and its specific BET surface area was calculated by nitrogen adsorption method. The sensitivity, response and recovery speed were examined. The results show that RuO2 modified petal-like ZnO based sensor exhibits a high sensitivity, a low detection limit, fast response and recovery properties to ethanol and acetone. The sensitivities of the RuO2 modified petal-like ZnO based sensor to 100×10^-6 ethanol and acetone at 360 °C are 33 and 67, respectively. The response and recovery times of the sensor are 4 s and 9 s to 10×10^-6 ethanol, and are 3 s and 10 s to 10×10^-6 acetone, respectively.
