Effect of Nanostructured Zinc Oxide Additives on the Humidity and Temperature Sensing Properties of Cuprous Oxide

ABSTRACT

The present paper reports the effect of ZnO additives on humidity and temperature sensing properties of cuprous oxide. The cuprous oxide powder was mixed with 10 and 25% ZnO by weight and these samples were pelletized by using a hydraulic pressing machine. The sensing materials were also investigated by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). SEM images show morphology and porosity of material. The average particles size of cuprous oxide was found to be 1.2 micron. The sheet-like structures of ZnO is evident in micrographs. From XRD, all peaks are well-identified and crystallite size for different peaks has also been calculated. The pellets of sensing materials were subjected to annealing at temperatures of 200, 400, and 600°C, respectively, and were exposed to humidity and temperature variations. Electrical resistances of pellets were found to vary with humidity and temperature and were recorded. The sensitivity of sensors at various temperature and humidity levels was calculated.

KEYWORDS:

• humidity
• temperature
• pellet
• morphology
• SEM
• XRD

Acknowledgments

We are highly grateful to Dr. C. D. Dwivedi, Retired Scientist, DMSRDE, Kanpur for fruitful discussion on manuscript, and the corresponding author is thankful to the Department of Science and Technology, India, for financial support in the form of FAST-TRACK project (SR/FTP/PS-21/2009).