Humidity-sensing properties of a ZnO nanowire film as measured with a QCM

The humidity-sensing properties of ZnO nanowires synthesized by carbothermal catalyst-free vapor solid (VS) technique were studied. The morphology and the crystal structure were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The humidity adsorption and desorption kinetics of the synthesized ZnO nanowires were investigated via quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements. The observed positive frequency shift of ZnO nanowires when loaded on the QCM crystal under varying relative humidity conditions can be explained in terms of visco-elastic variations in their mechanical stiffness.