Synthesis of sphere-like WO3 and their application to SO2 sensing

Abstract

The detection of SO2, one of the main SF6 decomposition gases, can be applied to diagnose faults in gas-insulated electrical equipment. In this study, spherical WO3 nanoparticles were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. Their physical phase, microstructure and ability to sense SO2 gas were investigated by various techniques. The experimental results show that the spherical gas sensors of WO3 have excellent performance for SO2 gas detection in terms of selectivity, response time and operating temperature, and can be used for effective detection of the major decomposition products of SF6.