Preparation and gas sensing properties of partially broken WO3 nanotubes

Abstract WO 3 nanotubes are fabricated by a facile solvothermal method using WCl 6 as the tungsten source. Morphology and structure of the WO 3 nanotubes are analyzed by SEM, XRD, XPS and N 2 sorption technique. Gas sensing properties of the as-prepared WO 3 sensor are systematically investigated by a static gas-sensing system. The results show the triclinic-structure WO 3 nanotubes with diameters of about 700 nm are obtained. The sensor based on the WO 3 nanotubes reveals ultra-fast response (1 s) and fast recovery time (9–19 s) for ethanol detection. In addition, the WO 3 sensor demonstrates high selectivity for ethanol against several gases including methanol, benzene, dichloromethane and hexane. Compared to other WO 3 sensors reported in literatures, the WO 3 sensor in this work still exhibits a competitive advantage due to unique nanotubular structure. These clearly indicate that WO 3 nanotubes are promising sensing materials for ethanol detection.