Synthesis of Fe2O3/WO3 nanocomposites with enhanced sensing performance to acetone

Fe2O3/WO3 composites were successfully prepared by a two-step solution-based method at low temperature. The as-synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The gas sensing properties of Fe2O3/WO3 composites, along with pure WO3 nanoplates and Fe2O3 NPs, were investigated to various volatile organic compounds. The nanohybrids based gas sensor showed a response of 105.8–100 ppm acetone at optimum operating temperature of 260 °C, whereas the pure WO3 nanoplates and Fe2O3 NPs based gas sensors showed responses of 31.0 and 6.6, respectively. The Fe2O3/WO3 sensor also showed high selectivity to acetone.