Enhancement of hydrogen sensing response of ZnO nanowires for the decoration of WO3 nanoparticles

WO3 nanoparticle-decorated ZnO nanowires are synthesized by the hydrothermal and vapor-liquid solid (VLS) methods, respectively. WO3 nanoparticles are decorated on the surface of ZnO nanowires to fabricate the highly sensitive hydrogen gas sensor. This structured sensor presents a sensing response that is 4.3 times higher than its counterpart for 2000 ppm hydrogen gas. The variation in depletion layer width of the ZnO nanowires increases as the WO3 nanoparticles are decorated. This improves the sensing response of the WO3 nanoparticle-decorated ZnO nanowire sensor compared with its counterpart. In this research, a synthetic method of WO3 nanoparticle-decorated ZnO nanowires is described, and its physical and chemical properties are analyzed. Moreover, the sensing responses are measured, and the sensing mechanism is discussed in this literature. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.