Thermally-induced microstructural evolution in nanoparticle-based CuO, WO3 and CuO–WO3 thin films for hydrogen gas sensing
This study systematically investigates the microstructural evolution of nanoparticle-based CuO, WO3, and composite ‘CuO–WO3’ thin films induced by their post-deposition annealing. The films were reactively deposited using a magnetron-based gas aggregation technique, with the composite films consisti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Applied Surface Science Advances |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666523925000765 |
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| author | Kalyani Shaji Stanislav Haviar Petr Zeman Michal Procházka Radomír Čerstvý Nirmal Kumar Jiří Čapek |
| author_facet | Kalyani Shaji Stanislav Haviar Petr Zeman Michal Procházka Radomír Čerstvý Nirmal Kumar Jiří Čapek |
| author_sort | Kalyani Shaji |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study systematically investigates the microstructural evolution of nanoparticle-based CuO, WO3, and composite ‘CuO–WO3’ thin films induced by their post-deposition annealing. The films were reactively deposited using a magnetron-based gas aggregation technique, with the composite films consisting of alternating monolayers of CuO and WO3 nanoparticles. After deposition, the films were annealed in synthetic air at temperatures ranging from 200 to 400°C and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Annealing of the CuO films led to the most pronounced changes associated with a gradual enhancement of crystallinity accompanied by significant particle growth with increasing annealing temperature, while the WO3 and CuO–WO3 films were more thermally stable to crystallization and particle growth. Notably, at 400°C, the CuO–WO3 films crystallized into a novel γ-CuWO4 phase. The annealed films were further evaluated for their gas-sensing performance upon H2 exposure and the obtained results were analyzed in relation to film properties and the microstructural evolution induced by annealing. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d1f50f325f054a608eec4c1e66f74fc1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2666-5239 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Surface Science Advances |
| spelling | doaj-art-d1f50f325f054a608eec4c1e66f74fc12025-08-20T03:37:31ZengElsevierApplied Surface Science Advances2666-52392025-08-012810076810.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100768Thermally-induced microstructural evolution in nanoparticle-based CuO, WO3 and CuO–WO3 thin films for hydrogen gas sensingKalyani Shaji0Stanislav Haviar1Petr Zeman2Michal Procházka3Radomír Čerstvý4Nirmal Kumar5Jiří Čapek6Department of Physics and NTIS - European Centre of Excellence, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Univerzitní 8, Plzeň, 301 00, Czech RepublicDepartment of Physics and NTIS - European Centre of Excellence, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Univerzitní 8, Plzeň, 301 00, Czech RepublicDepartment of Physics and NTIS - European Centre of Excellence, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Univerzitní 8, Plzeň, 301 00, Czech RepublicNew Technologies–Research Centre, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Univerzitní 8, Plzeň, 301 00, Czech RepublicDepartment of Physics and NTIS - European Centre of Excellence, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Univerzitní 8, Plzeň, 301 00, Czech RepublicDepartment of Physics and NTIS - European Centre of Excellence, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Univerzitní 8, Plzeň, 301 00, Czech RepublicDepartment of Physics and NTIS - European Centre of Excellence, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Univerzitní 8, Plzeň, 301 00, Czech Republic; Corresponding author.This study systematically investigates the microstructural evolution of nanoparticle-based CuO, WO3, and composite ‘CuO–WO3’ thin films induced by their post-deposition annealing. The films were reactively deposited using a magnetron-based gas aggregation technique, with the composite films consisting of alternating monolayers of CuO and WO3 nanoparticles. After deposition, the films were annealed in synthetic air at temperatures ranging from 200 to 400°C and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Annealing of the CuO films led to the most pronounced changes associated with a gradual enhancement of crystallinity accompanied by significant particle growth with increasing annealing temperature, while the WO3 and CuO–WO3 films were more thermally stable to crystallization and particle growth. Notably, at 400°C, the CuO–WO3 films crystallized into a novel γ-CuWO4 phase. The annealed films were further evaluated for their gas-sensing performance upon H2 exposure and the obtained results were analyzed in relation to film properties and the microstructural evolution induced by annealing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666523925000765CuO, WO3, CuO–WO3Microstructural evolutionThermal annealingNanoparticle-based thin filmsGas aggregation sourceConductometric gas sensors |
| spellingShingle | Kalyani Shaji Stanislav Haviar Petr Zeman Michal Procházka Radomír Čerstvý Nirmal Kumar Jiří Čapek Thermally-induced microstructural evolution in nanoparticle-based CuO, WO3 and CuO–WO3 thin films for hydrogen gas sensing Applied Surface Science Advances CuO, WO3, CuO–WO3 Microstructural evolution Thermal annealing Nanoparticle-based thin films Gas aggregation source Conductometric gas sensors |
| title | Thermally-induced microstructural evolution in nanoparticle-based CuO, WO3 and CuO–WO3 thin films for hydrogen gas sensing |
| title_full | Thermally-induced microstructural evolution in nanoparticle-based CuO, WO3 and CuO–WO3 thin films for hydrogen gas sensing |
| title_fullStr | Thermally-induced microstructural evolution in nanoparticle-based CuO, WO3 and CuO–WO3 thin films for hydrogen gas sensing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thermally-induced microstructural evolution in nanoparticle-based CuO, WO3 and CuO–WO3 thin films for hydrogen gas sensing |
| title_short | Thermally-induced microstructural evolution in nanoparticle-based CuO, WO3 and CuO–WO3 thin films for hydrogen gas sensing |
| title_sort | thermally induced microstructural evolution in nanoparticle based cuo wo3 and cuo wo3 thin films for hydrogen gas sensing |
| topic | CuO, WO3, CuO–WO3 Microstructural evolution Thermal annealing Nanoparticle-based thin films Gas aggregation source Conductometric gas sensors |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666523925000765 |
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