Tailoring the textured surface of porous nanostructured NiO thin films for the detection of pollutant gases

In the present article, an experimental approach to detect pollutant gases in presence of humidity was applied for gas sensors based on p-type NiO thin films. NiO thin films were deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering in inert atmosphere using a NiO target. Thin films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy to observe their surface morphology. Crystal structure and vibrational study were investigated by X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy, respectively. It was observed that deposition temperature played a crucial role in the structural and surface morphology of NiO thin films. Sensing response of the nanostructured thin films to reducing and oxidizing gas was studied as a function of gas concentration and operating temperature. A double digit (12.3) response was observed towards ozone at 200 °C, while maximum response to ethanol and acetone was recorded at 400 °C. A correlation was established between sensing response and crystalline dimension for ozone sensing. The result showed that NiO thin films can be used as p-type metal oxide material for the fabrication of solid state gas sensors to detect low concentrations of ozone (70 ppb).