Facile Fabrication of High-Performance Humidity Sensors by Flash Reduction of GO

Abstract

Graphene is a promising sensing material that has been widely used for high-performance sensors. However, the development of graphene-based sensing device is limited by complex manufacturing procedures. Here, we report a facile fabrication of humidity sensors by flash reduction of graphene oxides (GO) with the help of a photographic camera flash. The flash treatment triggers a drastic deoxygenation of oxygen functional groups (OCGs) from the GO sheets, which not only restores its conductivity partly but also induces the formation of a highly porous structure. The reduced GO sensor shows high sensitivity at the relative humidity atmosphere of 11%–95%, small hysteresis, rapid response, and enhanced durability. The sensitive mechanism was discussed through the investigation of complex impedance plots. This facile flash reduction strategy holds great promise for chemical-free production of graphene-based sensing devices.