Complexing surfactants-mediated hydrothermal synthesis of WO 3 microspheres for gas sensing applications

Abstract WO 3 microspheres with hierarchical architectures were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method in the presence of K 2 SO 4 and H 2 C 2 O 4 with a molar ratio of 1:1, accompanied by WO 3 products mediated by only K 2 SO 4 or H 2 C 2 O 4 . The effect of surfactants on product morphology was investigated by means of XRD, SEM, XPS and BET measurements. Structural characterizations demonstrate that WO 3 microspheres mediated by complexing surfactants are assembled by numerous one-dimensional hexagonal nanorods with single crystal. Based on the comparative studies, WO 3 microspheres mediated by complexing surfactants show the highest effective surface area and optimal morphology distribution, leading to an excellent NO 2 gas sensing properties.