Gas sensors based on anodic tungsten oxide

Nanostructured porous tungsten oxide materials were synthesized by the means of electrochemical etching (anodization) of tungsten foils in aqueous NaF electrolyte. Formation of the sub-micrometer size mesoporous particles has been achieved by infiltrating the pores with water. The obtained colloidal anodic tungsten oxide dispersions have been used to fabricate resistive WO3 gas sensors by drop casting the sub-micrometer size mesoporous particles between Pt electrodes on Si/SiO2 substrate followed by calcination at 400 °C in air for 2 h. The synthesized WO3 films show slightly nonlinear current–voltage characteristics with strong thermally activated carrier transport behavior measured at temperatures between −20 °C and 280 °C. Gas response measurements carried out in CO, H2, NO and O2 analytes (concentration from 1 to 640 ppm) in air as well as in Ar buffers (O2 only in Ar) exhibited a rapid change of sensor conductance for each gas and showed pronounced response towards H2 and NO in Ar and air, respectively. The response of the sensors was dependent on temperature and yielded highest values between 170 °C and 220 °C.