Exploring NiO nanosize structures for ammonia sensing

Abstract

Efficient ammonia gas sensor devices were fabricated based on nickel oxide (NiO) nanostructures films. Two chemical synthesis approaches were used: chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP) and chemical bath deposition (CBD), aiming at obtaining highly developed surface area and high chemical reactivity of NiO. Crystal structure, morphology, and composition of NiO films and nanostructures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. CSP method results in the synthesis of NiO films with pure cubic crystalline structure of preferred orientation along (111) direction. The type of the precursors used (nickel acetate, nickel chloride and nickel nitrate) affects the morphology and crystallites average size of the deposited films. CBD method consisted of two stages: (i) deposition of nickel hydroxide phase and (ii) thermal annealing of nickel hydroxide at 450 °C in air for 4 h. Resulted structures were nanoflakes, vertically arranged in a “wall-like” morphology. Fabricated structures were found to be sensitive to ammonia differently, depending on the synthesis approach and material morphology. NiO films deposited by CBD demonstrated a stable response to ammonia with maximum magnitude at the operating temperature of 300 °C. The highest average response for the CBD–NiO sample was 114.3–141.3% for 25 and 150 ppm NH 3 , respectively, whereas the response range observed for the film processed by spray pyrolysis using nickel chloride was 31.7–142.5% for 25 and 150 ppm NH 3 , respectively.