Nickel doped spray pyrolyzed nanostructured TiO2 thin films for LPG gas sensing

In present work simple spray pyrolysis technique was employed to prepare nanocrystalline pure and Ni (nickel)-doped TiO2 thin films. Aqueous solutions of analytical (AR) grade NiCl2 center dot 6H(2)O (0.01 M) and TiCl3 center dot 6H(2)O (0.01 M) were mixed in the volume % of 1:99, 2.5:97.5 and 5:95, respectively. The solutions were sprayed onto glass substrate heated at 350 degrees C. The films were annealed for 1 h at 550 degrees C. The films were studied using XRD, FESEM, TEM and EDAX. The gas sensing performance of pure and Ni doped films were studied on exposure of various gases. The Ni-doped TiO2 (2.5:97.5) thin film was observed to be most sensitive to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) at 250 degrees C. The results were interpreted. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.