Characterization of WO3 thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis technique and its role in gas sensing
Sivaraman Sethu Sivathas, Sambandam Murugan, Arthur Victor Babu, Singaravelu Ramalingam, Ramalingam Thirumurugan, Devanugraham Clement Easter Raj Bernice Victoria
The work investigated in this paper focused on the fabrication of WO3 films by the spray pyrolysis technique, and different analyses were made to find optimized samples for studying properties suitable for the application of gas sensing. The substrate temperature is the most important parameter among other spray parameters for the synthesis of thin films hence WO3 thin films were deposited on glass substrates by maintaining the substrate temperature at 350 ºC, 450 ºC, 550 ºC, and 650 °C using compressed air as a carrier gas. The influence of the substrate temperature on the structural, morphological, compositional, and optical properties of the WO3 thin films has been justified using XRD data. Good and enhanced crystallinity is observed for the film deposited at a substrate temperature of 550 ºC. The nonconventional properties were studied by different investigations and confirmed by past research work. The manipulation of surface morphology with the different deposition temperatures is monitored. Only the characteristic peaks of W and O are present in the fabricated WO3 thin films. The optical activity of about 70 to 80 % of the selected sample in the visible region (300 to 1200 nm) is found. The selective absorption activity of light in the ultraviolet region and visible region is checked. The obtained IR bands confirmed the inter bridge stretching and bending modes of W-O and O-W-O. A high response towards ammonia compared to other test gases is exhibited. The repeatability of WO3 towards NH3 over three periodic sensing cycles, response, and recovery time has also been discussed. From all the characteristic studies, it has been suggested that the fabricated WO3 thin films have been used in the health care field to detect the toxic NH3 gas
How to cite paper:
Sivathas, S, , Murugan, S, , Babu, A, , Ramalingam, S, , Thirumurugan, R, , Victoria, D, (2022). Characterization of WO3 thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis technique and its role in gas sensing. EUREKA: Physics and Engineering, 4, 101-113. doi:https://doi.org/10.21303/2461-4262.2022.002347