Humidity sensor applicative material based on copper-zinc-tungsten spinel ferrite

• The partial substitution of iron with tungsten on to copper–zinc ferrite.
• The effects of sintering temperature on to Cu0.5Zn0.5W0.3Fe1.7O4 ferrite.
• The electrical and humidity characteristics of copper–zinc–tungsten ferrite.
• The characteristics of humidity sensors based on Cu0.5Zn0.5W0.3Fe1.7O4 ferrite.

In this paper, the effect of partially substitution of iron with tungsten on the properties of copper–zinc spinel ferrite for humidity sensors application was presented. The copper–zinc–tungsten Cu0.5Zn0.5W0.3Fe1.7O4 spinel ferrite was prepared using a sol–gel autocombustion technology. The ferrites samples were treated for 30 min at 800 °C, 1000 °C and 1200 °C, respectively. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were performed in order to identify phase compositions and crystallites structure. The electric properties of the Cu0.5Zn0.5W0.3Fe1.7O4 spinel ferrites heat-treated at different temperatures and humidity conditions were characterized and analyzed. As an application of the material the characteristics of resistive and capacitive humidity sensors were analyzed using Cu0.5Zn0.5W0.3Fe1.7O4 ferrite as active material.