Studies on spray pyrolised nanostructured SnO₂ thin films for H₂ gas sensing application

The objective of this work is to study the influence of pyrolysis temperature on structural, surface morphology and gas sensing properties of the nanostructured SnO₂ thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis technique. These films were characterized for the structural, morphological and elemental composition carried by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrophotometer (EDAX). The information of crystallite size, dislocation density and microstrain is obtained from the full width-at half- maximum (FWHM) of the diffraction peaks. Effect of sprayed deposition temperature on H₂ gas sensing performance and electrical properties were studied using static gas sensing system. The sensor (Tpyr. = 350 °C) showed high gas response (S = 1200 at 350 °C) on exposure of 500 ppm of H₂ and high selectivity against other gases The results are discussed and interpreted.