Structural and NH3 gas-sensing properties of La0.8Ca0.1Pb0.1Fe1-xCoxO3 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.20) perovskite compounds

The perovskite La0.8Ca0.1Pb0.1Fe1-xCoxO3 (x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20) compounds were synthesized by the sol-gel method using the citric acid route. Structural, morphological, electrical and gas-sensing properties of these compounds were investigated by various techniques, such as XRD, MEB and electric resistance measurements (from 30 to 350 degrees C). These compounds were found to exhibit a single phase and crystallized in the orthorhombic symmetry with a Pnma space group. Otherwise, we found that the substitution of iron (Fe) ion by cobalt (Co) one does not change the principal phase. The La0.8Ca0.1Pb0.1Fe1-xCoxO3 sensor showed interesting gas sensing performances towards ammonia (NH3) gas. On the other hand, the La0.8Ca0.1Pb0.1Fe1-xCoxO3 (x = 0.05) sensor exhibited an early selectivity to ammonia at 270 degrees C including the ability to detect low concentrations of N-3 (10 ppm). (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.