Sensing performance of palladium-functionalized WO3 nanowires by a drop-casting method

In this work, we show a simple way to functionalize tungsten oxide nanowires (WO3-NWs) using a saturated palladium chloride (PdCl2) solution deposited by a drop-casting method. WO3-NWs were synthesized by close-spaced chemical vapor deposition (CSVT). The morphological and structural characterizations showed that the diameters of WO3-NWs are in the range from 50 to 200 nm with lengths above 10 μm, and correspond to the orthorhombic phase of WO3, respectively. The sensor was fabricated using the WO3-NWs and tested with hydrogen and volatile organic compounds (VCO's). A comparative study was done on the sensing performance, before and after the Palladium functionalization of the WO3-NWs, considering a wide range of gas concentrations and moderate operating temperatures (100–400 °C). The results show that this simple functionalization process significantly increases the sensor sensitivity and reduces the time constants. In addition, it has been shown that at 300 °C the decorated sensor becomes more selective to hydrogen and xylene for all concentrations considered in this research. Finally, the mechanisms involved in improving the gas sensing properties of WO3-NWs functionalized with Palladium are discussed.