Gas Sensor Based on 3-D WO₃ Inverse Opal: Design and Applications

A three-dimensional inverse opal (3DIO) WO₃ architecture has been synthesized via a simple sacrificial template method. Morphology features of the 3DIO were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and its structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The shrinking ratio of the PMMA spheres was ~28.2% through measuring the distribution of the PMMA spheres and 3DIO WO₃ center-to-center distance between the spheres and macropores, respectively. Beyond that, the 3DIO gas sensing properties were investigated systematically and the sensing mechanism of 3DIO WO₃ was proposed. The results indicated that the response of the 3DIO sensor possessed excellent sensitivity to acetone gas, especially at trace levels. The 3DIO gas sensor response was ~7 to 5 ppm of acetone and could detect acetone low to 0.2 ppm effectively, which was in close proximity to the theoretical low detection limit of 0.14 ppm when R_a/R_g ≥ 1.2 was used as the criterion for reliable gas sensing. All in all, the obvious satisfaction of the gas-sensing properties was ascribed to the structure of the 3DIO, and the sensor could be a promising novel device in the future.