Deposition of Na2WO4 films by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis: effect of thickness on the crystallographic and sensing properties

Na₂WO₄ films have been grown on Si (1 0 0) and glass substrate using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. The films are prepared from aqueous solution containing Na₂WO₄·2H₂O at 475 °C temperature and characterized by XRD and SEM techniques and the chemical composition of the films have been verified by EDX and PIXE and its formula Na₂WO₄ is confirmed by XRD. The evolution of the crystallinity was studied as a function of film thickness ranging from 2500 to 4200 nm, which corresponds to a deposition time from 10 to 30 min, respectively. The crystalline quality was found to improve, where the grain size values increased with increasing thickness. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was used to study the morphology evolution with the deposition time, where porous films were found due to the synthesis parameters, and a better sensing response to gases was developed with increasing thickness. Thus, this study demonstrates the possibility of utilizing Na₂WO₄ thick films as a sensor element for the detection of ethanol vapor at room temperature, where thicker films exhibit excellent ethanol vapor sensing properties with a maximum sensitivity at 25 °C in air atmosphere with fast response time.