Synthesis and characterization of ZnO/CuO nanocomposite for humidity sensor application

ZnO/CuO nanocomposite was synthesized by microwave-assisted technique using ionic liquid. The nanocomposite was studied by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), particle size analyser (PSA), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and thermo gravimetric and differential thermal analyser (TGDTA). The ZnO/CuO nanocomposite was confirmed by XRD with JCPDS card numbers along with average crystallite size in nano meter range. Average particle size was obtained as 28 nm and 34 nm for different temperatures. SEM images inferred that the nanocomposite shown high porous nature. The Zn-O and Cu-O stretching bands were observed in FTIR. The weight losses of the sample and phase transformation details were obtained by TGDTA. The humidity sensing property of the nanocomposite increased along with increasing of annealing temperature.