Synthesis and Characterization of Nano-Tungsten Oxide Precipitated onto Natural Inorganic Clay for Humidity-Sensing Applications

Abstract

A wet chemical method was used to obtain tungsten oxide nanoparticles from tungsten tetrachloride and natural microfibrous inorganic clay (sepiolite) as a starting material. Precipitation of tungsten oxide species onto sepiolite under basic conditions and subsequent thermal treatment was investigated, prompted by the abundance of sepiolite in nature and the useful environmental applications that could be attained. Laser granulometry, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) techniques were used to study the particle-size distribution, the morphology, and the composition of the prepared sample. Our findings show the presence of tungsten oxide nanoparticles, which are less than 50 nm, on the needles of the modified sepiolite.