Comprehensive Evaluation of Annealing Temperature Effects on the Crystallinity, Surface Morphology, and Methane-Sensing Characteristics of ZnO Thick Films

Comprehensive Evaluation of Annealing Temperature Effects on the Crystallinity, Surface Morphology, and Methane-Sensing Characteristics of ZnO Thick Films | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Comprehensive Evaluation of Annealing Temperature Effects on the Crystallinity, Surface Morphology, and Methane-Sensing Characteristics of ZnO Thick Films Vaishali Salunke, Vikas Deshmane, Umesh Tupe, Sajid Naeem, Arun Patil This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9339964/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This experimental work investigates the effect of annealing temperature on the electrical, structural, and gas-sensing properties of ZnO thick films prepared via the screen-printing technique on alumina substrates. The films were examined for annealing at temperatures of 200°C, 400°C, 600°C, and 800°C. Comprehensive characterization was conducted using XRD, EDAX, FESEM, FTIR, and UV–Vis Spectra. In addition, electrical analysis via the half-bridge method. FESEM revealed smooth and uniform surface morphology across all samples, while EDS spectra confirmed the successful formation of stoichiometric ZnO. XRD analysis confirmed the presence of a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure. Gas sensing performance was evaluated using a static gas sensing setup; the methane gas shows maximum sensitivity. The sensitivity of the ZnO films increased with annealing temperature, 46.35%, 49.88%, 52.36%, and 57.41% for the respective samples. A sample, annealed at 800°C, exhibited the highest sensitivity at an optimum operating temperature of 120°C for a CH 4 concentration of 1000 ppm. These results of annealing temperature in enhancing the gas sensing response of ZnO thick films, particularly for methane detection at relatively low operating temperatures. ZnO thick films Screen printing technique Gas sensing Material science Methane detection Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9339964","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":637178793,"identity":"76588b4f-cb69-4d23-8ea3-ab445d645757","order_by":0,"name":"Vaishali Salunke","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Savitribai Phule Pune University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vaishali","middleName":"","lastName":"Salunke","suffix":""},{"id":637178794,"identity":"12cd573f-d702-4253-b4f9-bf62ee972ee0","order_by":1,"name":"Vikas Deshmane","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Savitribai Phule Pune University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vikas","middleName":"","lastName":"Deshmane","suffix":""},{"id":637178795,"identity":"efde963f-b15d-427f-a55e-0447883a8a96","order_by":2,"name":"Umesh Tupe","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Vidya-Amrut Dnyan Pratishthan's Arts, Science and Commerce College, Affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Umesh","middleName":"","lastName":"Tupe","suffix":""},{"id":637178796,"identity":"dc89694e-4b5b-4ee6-ae8e-288ed7ffb2d7","order_by":3,"name":"Sajid Naeem","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Savitribai Phule Pune University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sajid","middleName":"","lastName":"Naeem","suffix":""},{"id":637178797,"identity":"d427af04-cc00-4a93-a7dd-7c5bd66bea4d","order_by":4,"name":"Arun Patil","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAsklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYNCCAhsgwdh4gHgdBwzSQFoaSNJyGEITpZp/9hmzxx8MztutbT8MtKXGJpqgFolzOeYGBwxuJ287kwjUciwtt4GgnjM8ZhIgLWYHgFoYGw4T1iIP0XIu2ez8QyK1GEC0HLAzu0GsLYZn2MoNzhgkJ5jdANqSQIxf5M4wb3tQUWFnb3Y+/eGDDzU2RHifgYENRCSCVSYQoRyuxZ5IxaNgFIyCUTASAQAYZ0Zuu2lXiAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Savitribai Phule Pune University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Arun","middleName":"","lastName":"Patil","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-07 05:40:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9339964/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9339964/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":109405466,"identity":"f5810b69-419f-4b14-972e-d5cc20424745","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-17 13:18:20","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1068695,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PureZnOPaperUpdated6April2026.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9339964/v1_covered_21dda774-264f-4a37-851c-a106e509960a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Comprehensive Evaluation of Annealing Temperature Effects on the Crystallinity, Surface Morphology, and Methane-Sensing Characteristics of ZnO Thick Films","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"ZnO thick films, Screen printing technique, Gas sensing, Material science, Methane detection","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9339964/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9339964/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis experimental work investigates the effect of annealing temperature on the electrical, structural, and gas-sensing properties of ZnO thick films prepared via the screen-printing technique on alumina substrates. The films were examined for annealing at temperatures of 200\u0026deg;C, 400\u0026deg;C, 600\u0026deg;C, and 800\u0026deg;C. Comprehensive characterization was conducted using XRD, EDAX, FESEM, FTIR, and UV\u0026ndash;Vis Spectra. In addition, electrical analysis via the half-bridge method. FESEM revealed smooth and uniform surface morphology across all samples, while EDS spectra confirmed the successful formation of stoichiometric ZnO. XRD analysis confirmed the presence of a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure. Gas sensing performance was evaluated using a static gas sensing setup; the methane gas shows maximum sensitivity. The sensitivity of the ZnO films increased with annealing temperature, 46.35%, 49.88%, 52.36%, and 57.41% for the respective samples. A sample, annealed at 800\u0026deg;C, exhibited the highest sensitivity at an optimum operating temperature of 120\u0026deg;C for a CH\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e concentration of 1000 ppm. These results of annealing temperature in enhancing the gas sensing response of ZnO thick films, particularly for methane detection at relatively low operating temperatures.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Comprehensive Evaluation of Annealing Temperature Effects on the Crystallinity, Surface Morphology, and Methane-Sensing Characteristics of ZnO Thick Films","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-15 18:19:01","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9339964/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"0ad618e6-570d-438d-9a27-c6df494894c1","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 15th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"338038301393997840541868986600839872862","date":"2026-05-09T03:00:15+00:00","index":12,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"44974091150188645337331033844279538803","date":"2026-05-06T11:41:22+00:00","index":11,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"5411501540020918123825088762658384074","date":"2026-05-06T11:18:08+00:00","index":10,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"4","date":"2026-05-06T10:52:54+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-15T18:19:02+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-15 18:19:01","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9339964","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9339964","identity":"rs-9339964","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}