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rGO/ZnO nanorods/Cu based nanocomposite having flower shaped morphology: AC conductivity and humidity sensing response studies at room temperature

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Abstract

Humidity control is an important environmental concern in storage, transport, and preservation operations in agriculture, food, medical, and other industrial fields. In the present work, we prepared a nanocomposite having flower shaped morphology that consists of metal (Cu) nanoparticles, a metal oxide (ZnO nanorods), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with a one-pot synthesis method for the AC conductivity and Humidity sensing response studies at room temperature. The morphology of the nanocomposite was characterized by using XRD, SEM, EDX, and TEM analysis. Conduction in the nanocomposite due to the hopping mechanism was confirmed by studying the power law behavior of its AC conductivity. The nanocomposite shows a maximum sensing response of 97.79% in the range of 11–97% RH, with response and recovery times of 19 s and 42 s, respectively. The nanocomposite shows a low humidity hysteresis and stable humidity sensing ability. The possible humidity sensing mechanism is discussed in detail. Our results show that the nanocomposite having flower shaped morphology is an ideal candidate for building MEMS/NEMS humidity sensors.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research Project with Reference Numbers CSR-IC-BL-48/CRS-165/2016-17/829, 2017-18/786, and CSR-IC/BL-48/CRS-165/2018-19/1421. The authors CH.V.V. Ramana and Daewon Kim thank the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (Grant No. 2018R1A6A1A03025708).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Amity Institute of Nanotechnology, Amity University, Sector-125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, 201 303, India

    Dheeraj Kuntal, Swati Chaudhary & A. B. V. Kiran Kumar

  2. Department of PG Studies and Research in Physics, Government Science College, Chitradurga, Karnataka, India

    R. Megha & Y. T. Ravi Kiran

  3. Department of Electronic Engineering, Institute for Wearable Convergence Electronics, Kyung Hee University, 1732 Deogyeong-daero, Giheung-gu, Yongin, 17104, Republic of Korea

    CH. V. V. Ramana & Daewon Kim

  4. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park Campus, Johannesburg, 2006, South Africa

    CH. V. V. Ramana

  5. International and Inter University Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India

    Sabu Thomas

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  1. Dheeraj Kuntal
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  5. CH. V. V. Ramana
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Correspondence to A. B. V. Kiran Kumar or CH. V. V. Ramana.

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Kuntal, D., Chaudhary, S., Kiran Kumar, A.B.V. et al. rGO/ZnO nanorods/Cu based nanocomposite having flower shaped morphology: AC conductivity and humidity sensing response studies at room temperature. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 30, 15544–15552 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-019-01931-8

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