Humidity-sensitive properties and conductance mechanisms of SnO2-K2O-LiZnVO4

The SnO2-K2O-LiZnVO4 materials were prepared using the coprecipitation process. We examined the effects of liquid-phase (loping of potassium (K+) oil the humidity-sensitive characteristics of the nano-materials. Direct current (DC) measurements were used to investigate the mechanisms of electrical conductance of the SnO2-K2O-LiZnVO4 materials. The results demonstrated that by appropriately doping of K+ ions, a humidity-sensitive material with low resistance and moderate sensitivity could be obtained. The analysis on DC characteristics revealed a mixed electronic-ionic mechanism of electrical conductance. It was suggested that the liquid phase potassium doping at the [K] concentration of 2.5 mol% could improve the humidity-sensing performance of the nano-materials. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.