Preparation of hexagonal WO3 from hexagonal ammonium tungsten bronze for sensing NH3

Hexagonal tungsten oxide (h-WO{sub 3}) was prepared by annealing hexagonal ammonium tungsten bronze, (NH{sub 4}){sub 0.07}(NH{sub 3}){sub 0.04}(H{sub 2}O){sub 0.09}WO{sub 2.95}. The structure, composition and morphology of h-WO{sub 3} were studied by XRD, XPS, Raman, {sup 1}H MAS (magic angle spinning) NMR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and BET-N{sub 2} specific surface area measurement, while its thermal stability was investigated by in situ XRD. The h-WO{sub 3} sample was built up by 50-100 nm particles, had an average specific surface area of 8.3 m{sup 2}/g and was thermally stable up to 450 deg. C. Gas sensing tests showed that h-WO{sub 3} was sensitive to various levels (10-50 ppm) of NH{sub 3}, with the shortest response and recovery times (1.3 and 3.8 min, respectively) to 50 ppm NH{sub 3}. To this NH{sub 3} concentration, the sensor had significantly higher sensitivity than h-WO{sub 3} samples prepared by wet chemical methods.