Nanonails structured ferric oxide thick film as room temperature liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sensor

In the present work, ferric oxide nanonails were prepared by screen printing method on borosilicate glass substrate and their electrical and LPG sensing properties were investigated. The structural and morphological characterizations of the material were analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD pattern revealed crystalline alpha-phase and rhombohedral crystal structure. SEM images show nanonails type of morphology throughout the surface. Optical characterization of the film was carried out by UV-visible spectrophotometer. By Tauc plot the estimated value of band gap of film was found 3.85 eV. The LPG sensing properties of the ferric oxide film were investigated at room temperature for different vol.% of LPG. The variations in electrical resistance of the film were measured with the exposure of LPG as a function of time. The maximum values of sensitivity and sensor response factors were found 51 and 50 respectively for 2 vol.% of LPG. The activation energy calculated from Arrhenius plot was found 0.95 eV. The response and recovery time of sensing film were found similar to 120 s and 150 s respectively. These experimental results show that nanonails structured ferric oxide is a promising material as LPG sensor. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.