Chunk Shaped ZnO/Co3O4 Nanocomposites For Ethanol Sensor

School of Physics, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625021, India

Adv. Mater. Lett., 2016, 7 (8), pp 652-658

DOI: 10.5185/amlett.2016.6297

Publication Date (Web): Jul 01, 2016

Copyright © IAAM-VBRI Press

E-mail: stellachandran89@gmail.com

Abstract

Chunk shaped ZnO/Co3O₄ nanocomposites for different concentrations of 90:10 (Z9C1), 70:30 (Z7C3), and 50:50 (Z5C5) were successfully synthesized by co-precipitation method. The structure, morphology, and elemental composition of the prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively which confirm the formation of ZnO/Co3O4nanocomposites. Raman analysis confirmed the presence of oxygen vacancies in the Z5C5 sample. The magnetic studies revealed that, the Z5C5 nanocomposite exhibit room temperature ferromagnetism. The gas sensing property clearly confirm the response of Z5C5 sensor which was as high as 5.6%, about 4 times higher than Z9C1 sample. The enhancement of gas sensing property is due to the collective contribution of smaller particle size, oxygen vacancies, and the formation of more p-n hetero junction in Z5C5 nanocomposite.

Keywords

ZnO/Co₃O₄, nanocomposites, chunk shape, ethanol sensor, fiber-optic technique.