Fabrication and Characterization of Nickel Ferrite-Based Ethanol Nanosensor

Ferrite nanostructures have been widely applied as effective sensing materials in detection systems for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) . This study presents a nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) nanoparticle-based ethanol sensor which is fabricated using a simple hydrothermal technique by applying a glass substrate. The formation, structure, and physical properties of the prepared nanostructure were studied and determined by x-ray diffraction analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis, vibrating-sample magnetometry, and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. The gas sensing characteristics of the fabricated sensor were investigated under various types of analytes, different concentrations, and temperatures. The measurements demonstrated the highest response value of 195% to 100 ppm ethanol at an operating temperature of 230°C, which was much higher than the sensor’s response to other analytes. Furthermore, these experiments revealed that the sensor is stable and repeatable. In summary, a low-cost fabricated sensor based on a glass substrate was evaluated at a range of temperatures (170–280°C) and ethanol concentrations (25–500 ppm). Further investigations were carried out to examine the percentage response for the fabricated sensors towards different VOCs including acetone, methanol, toluene, formaldehyde, and dichloromethane compared with ethanol.