Graphene oxide boosted high surface area CeO2 for humidity sensing

• Published in: Results in engineering 2024-03, Vol.21, p.101752, Article 101752
• Main Authors: Anjali, C, Nidhisha, V, Amrutha, T.P, Gopal, Ritu, Chethan, B, Thayyil, Mohamed Shahin, Periyat, Pradeepan, Neeroli Kizhakayil, Renuka
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ceria; Graphene oxide; Humidity sensing; Response and recovery times; Stability
• ISSN: 2590-1230; 2590-1230
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rineng.2024.101752

Precise measurement of humidity is of high significance in diverse fields like instrumentation, automated systems, agriculture and climatology. Herein as a first ever attempt, we report ceria-graphene oxide (CeO2-GO) composites as resistive type humidity sensor, that shows attractive response to moisture. High surface area ceria is synthesised via ammonia mediated precipitation from salt precursor, and CeO2-GO composites are achieved via hydrothermal route. The composites are well characterized using various analytical tools. Experiments using different mass ratios of GO in the composite show that there is an optimum amount of GO to realise maximum efficiency in the test parameters. It is further noted that the performance of the sensor is controlled by the active adsorption sites, which is proportional to surface area of the composite. An optimized CeO2-GO matrix yielded a response and recovery time of 19 s and 10 s respectively. The narrow hysteresis in moisture adsorption-desorption study and excellent stability for about 60 days are also observed for the system, warranting the successful utility of the system for practical applications. [Display omitted] •Synthesis of high surface area Nano Ceria.•Facile synthesis of Graphene oxide – CeO2 nanocomposites.•First report on resistive type humidity sensing using GO incorporated Ceria.•Low response and recovery times in response to humidity.•High stability humidity sensor.