Effect of Surfactant on Microstructure and NO2 Sensing Properties of WO3 Hierarchical Architectures

Abstract

WO3 hierarchical architectures were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method using sodium tungstate as tungsten source and different surfactants as assistant agent. Microstructure characterizations by means of XRD, SEM, and BET measurements demonstrated that WO3 products with hexagonal structure were assembled by ununiform nanopieces for K2SO4, dense nanolumps for H2C2O4, and well-defined nanorods for the mixture of K2SO4 and H2C2O4, respectively. NO2 sensing measurements showed that WO3 microspheres composed of well-defined nanorods with larger effective surface area exhibited the higher responses and shorter response/recovery times.