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Ultrahigh humidity tolerance of room-temperature hydrogen sensitive Pt–WO3 porous composite ceramics with ultra-large WO3 grains

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Abstract

Two kinds of WO3 powders with average size of 100 nm and 5 μm have been used to prepare Pt–WO3 porous composite ceramics, whose WO3 grains are around 1 and 5 μm, respectively. The ceramics with 1 μm WO3 grains show a sensitivity of 755 to 0.08% H2 – 20% O2 – N2 in air of 30% relative humidity (RH) at room temperature, but show no response to this concentration of hydrogen in air of 50% RH due to the depression effect of water, which indicate a relatively low humidity tolerance for the ceramics. In contrast, the ceramics with 5 μm WO3 grains show sensitivities of 1200 and 80 to 0.08% H2 – 20% O2 – N2 at room temperature in air of 30% and 50% RH, respectively, and a sensitivity of 8 to 0.02% H2 – 20% O2 – N2 in air of 70% RH, which represent an ultrahigh humidity tolerance. These results clearly demonstrate that the microstructure of room-temperature hydrogen sensitive metal oxide (MOX) materials exerts a decisive influence on their humidity tolerance. Much attention should be paid to MOX materials with large and even ultra-large MOX grains when room-temperature MOX gas sensors with high humidity tolerance are being developed.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. U2067207, the Science and Technology Program of Shenzhen under Grant No. JCYJ20190808152803567, and the National Key R&D Program of China under Grant No. 2020YFB2008800.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-Structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Yong Huang, Pengcheng Li & Wanping Chen

  2. Huaneng Wuhan Power Generation Co., Ltd, Wuhan, 431415, China

    Liqun Xu & Yajie Yu

  3. Research Institute of Wuhan University in Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518057, China

    Wanping Chen

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  1. Yong Huang
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  2. Pengcheng Li
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Correspondence to Wanping Chen.

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Huang, Y., Li, P., Xu, L. et al. Ultrahigh humidity tolerance of room-temperature hydrogen sensitive Pt–WO3 porous composite ceramics with ultra-large WO3 grains. Appl. Phys. A 127, 952 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-021-05107-2

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