Modified Impregnation Synthesis of Fe-loaded WO3 Nanosheets and the Gas-sensing Properties

In the present study, flake WO3 nanosheets were prepared by a simple acidification method, and the surface of nanosheets was catalytically decorated with Fe via a modified impregnation procedure. The structure and morphology of the nanosheets were characterized by X-ray diffraction, SEM, and TEM. The results indicated that the WO3 nanosheets are highly irregular with a small thickness of 10–20 nm, and the Fe nanoparticles were found to be distributed on the surface of WO3. In addition, the sensing properties of WO3 and Fe-loaded WO3 were also investigated. It was revealed that the surface catalytic modification of Fe could significantly promote the sensing ability of WO3 nanosheets. In particular, Fe-WO3 nanosheets showed an excellent response to acetone, even down to 1 ppm.