Vol. 109, Issue 10, October 2009, pp. 17-25

Nanostructured ZrO₂ Thick Film Resistors as H₂-Gas Sensors Operable at Room Temperature

^*K. M. GARADKAR, ^*B. S. SHIRKE, ^**Y. B. PATIL and ^**D. R. PATIL

^* Nanomaterial Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry,

Shivaji University Kolhapur-416 004 (M S), India

^** Bulk and Nanomaterial Research Laboratory R.L. College Parola,

Jalgaon- 425 111, (M S), India

E-mail: kmg-chem@unishivaji.ac.in

Received: 28 May 2009   /Accepted:  24 November 2009   /Published:  30 November 2009

Abstract: Nanostructured ZrO₂ powder was synthesized by microwave assisted sol-gel method. The material was characterized by XRD and SEM techniques. X-Ray diffraction studies confirm that a combination of tetragonal and monoclinic zirconia nanoparticles is obtained by using microwave-assisted method. The nanopowder was calcined at an optimized temperature of 400 °C for 3 h. The prepared powder had crystalline size about 25 nm. Thick films of synthesized ZrO₂ powder were prepared by screen printing technique. The gas sensing performances of these films for various gases were tested. Films showed highest response to H₂ (50 ppm) gas at room temperature with poor responses to others (1000 ppm). The quick response and fast recovery are the main features of this sensor. The effects of microstructure, operating temperature and gas concentration on the gas response, selectivity, response time and recovery time of the sensor in the presence of H₂ gas and others were studied and discussed.

Keywords: Nanostructured ZrO₂, XRD, SEM, H₂ gas sensor, Gas sensitivity

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