Observation on Switching Properties of WO3‑Based H2 Sensor Regulated by Temperature and Gas Concentration

Transition metal oxide semiconductors have great potential for use in H2 sensors, but in recent years, the strange phenomena about gas-sensitive performance associated with their special properties have been more widely discussed in research. In some cases, the resistance of transition metal oxide gas sensors will emerge with some changes contrary to their intrinsic semiconductor characteristics, especially in gas sensor research of WO3. Based on the hydrothermal synthesis of WO3, our work focuses on the abnormal change of tungsten oxide resistance to different gases at low temperature (80–200 °C) and high temperature (above 200 °C). Through in situ FT-IR and in situ XPS, combined with density functional theory calculations, a new reasonable explanation of WO3 is proposed for the abnormal resistance change caused by temperature and the strange response due to gas concentration. The occurrence of these findings can be attributed to the synergistic effect resulting from the presence of two contributing factors. One of them is attributed to the alteration in the surface valence state of WO3 induced by gas, resulting in the reduction of W6+. The other one is due to the reaction between gas and adsorbed oxygen on the surface of WO3. This work presents a novel and rational concept for addressing the reaction mechanism between gas and transition metal oxide semiconductors, thereby paving the way for the development of highly efficient gas sensors based on transition metal oxide semiconductors.