Open AccessComparative Study of Structural, Morphological and Humidity Sensing Properties of Pure WO3 and Cu2O-WO3 Nanocomposite
Author(s) -
Narendra Kumar Pandey,
Sanchita Singh,
Priya Gupta
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
asian journal of chemistry/asian journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.145
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 0975-427X
pISSN - 0970-7077
DOI - 10.14233/ajchem.2020.22829
Subject(s) - crystallinity , pellets , humidity , nanocomposite , annealing (glass) , tungsten trioxide , relative humidity , scanning electron microscope , materials science , nanocrystalline material , chemical engineering , chemistry , composite material , tungsten , analytical chemistry (journal) , nanotechnology , metallurgy , chromatography , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
This work reports the enhancement of humidity sensing properties of tungsten trioxide (WO3) by the formation of nanocomposite withcuprous oxide (Cu2O). A 0.1 g of Cu2O was mixed with 0.9 g of WO3. Pellets of pure WO3 and the obtained mixture are prepared atpressure of 250 MPa applied for 0.5 h. The pellets were then annealed at 300 ºC, 400 ºC, 500 ºC and 600 ºC. X-ray diffraction (XRD) andscanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyzed the crystallinity and morphology of as-prepared pellets surface. Humidity sensing applicationof pellets is studied in a specially designed chamber. It is observed that as relative humidity increases, there is decrease in the resistanceof the pellets. The humidity-sensing investigation (10-99%RH) showed that the nanocomposite of Cu2O with WO3 annealed at 600 ºC, ishaving the best sensitivity, low hysteresis, less ageing and high reproducibility than pure WO3. It is also observed that as annealingtemperature increases from 300 to 600 ºC, sensitivity increases. The present investigation could be useful for fabrication of resistive typehumidity sensors for commercial applications.