Synthesis, characterization and performance of zinc ferrite nanorods for room temperature sensing applications

In the present communication, nanorods of zinc ferrite was synthesized and fabricated by employing sol-gel spin coating process. The synthesized material was characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, acoustic particle sizer, atomic force microscopy, UV-visible absorption and infrared spectroscopic techniques. Thermal properties were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry. The XRD reveals cubic spinel structure with minimum crystallite size 10 nm. SEM image of the film shows porous surface morphology with uniform distribution of nanorods. The band gap of the zinc ferrite nanorods was found 3.80 eV using the Tauc plot. ZnFe2O4 shows weak super paramagnetic behavior at room temperature investigated using the vibrating sample magnetometer. Further, the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and carbon dioxide gas (CO2) sensing properties of the fabricated film were investigated at room temperature (25 degrees C). More variations in electrical resistance were observed for LPG in comparison to CO2 gas. The parameters such as lattice constant, X-ray density, porosity and specific surface area were also calculated for the better understanding of the observed gas sensing properties. High sensitivity and percentage sensor response, small response and recovery times, good reproducibility and stability characterized the fabricated sensor for the detection of LPG at room temperature. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.