Nanocrystalline Nickel Zinc Ferrite as an efficient alcohol sensor at room temperature

In the present communication, nanocrystalline nickel zinc ferrite (NZF) has been successfully synthesized by temperature and spin controlled coprecipitation techinique. The structural and surface morphological characterizations of the sample have been analyzed by means of Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The minimum crystalline size of prepared NZF sample calculated from Scherer's formula and is found to be 25 nm. FESEM images exhibit the porous nature of the sensing material with a number of active sites. In a comparative study on the sensing characteristics of nanostructured NZF pellet towards three primary alcohols viz. ethanol, propanol and butanol, the maximum sensitivity is found to be nearly 90% for 1000 ppm of the ethanol vapour at room temperature. The sensing response followed the order of ethanol > propanol > butanol with respect to time. The experimental results show that nanostructured NZF is a promising material for alcohol sensor. The sensor responses are quite stable and highly reproducible even at room temperature.