Nickel-Doped Cadmium Sulphide as a Promising Nanomaterials for Humidity Sensing Applications

Humidity sensors are utilized in respiratory analysis, noncontact sensing, electronic skin, and other exciting fields of study in current era. This study is focused on the synthesis of nickel (Ni)-doped cadmium sulfide (CdS) using hydrothermal method. The synthesized nanomaterials were characterized by Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The PXRD analysis confirmed the formation of pure and crystalline nanomaterials. FESEM imaging revealed the morphology of the synthesized nanomaterials. The EDX confirmed the elemental composition and revealed the efficiency of adopted synthesis method. FTIR spectroscopy provided insight into the chemical bonding and functional groups present in the nickel-doped CdS nanomaterials. Furthermore, the synthesized Ni-doped CdS nanomaterials were first time explored as thin-film humidity sensors, and their humidity-sensing performance was evaluated. The developed humidity sensor has a response time of 12.36 s and a recovery time of 16.38 s, good repeatability, and a negligible ageing effect. A comparison of current investigations with earlier reports reveals that in terms of recovery, response time and material the designed sensor is promising.