Thursday, 17 May 2018: 08:20
Room 303 (Washington State Convention Center)
In this paper, we developed a low-cost, simple and rapid fabrication for PrTixOy electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) sensors by sol-gel spin-coating technique. The influence of praseodymium content on the structural properties and sensing characteristics of PrTixOy sensing membranes was explored. We used X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to examine the structural, morphological and chemical features of these films as functions of the growth conditions (Pr concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 M), respectively.The observed structural properties were then correlated with their sensing performances. The PrTixOy EIS device treated at a Pr concentration of 0.2 M with showed the best sensing characteristics, including pH sensitivity, hysteresis and drift. We attribute this behaviour to the optimal praseodymium content in the PrTixOy film forming a well-crystallized Pr2TiO5 structure and a smoother surface.