Synthesis of Mn substituted CuFe2O4 nanoparticles for liquefied petroleum gas sensor applications

Manganese substituted copper ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized by evaporation method using metal nitrates and egg white for gas sensor application. The analysis methods of XRD, SEM, EDX, TEM and VSM were used to characterize the ferrite nanoparticles. Through the characterization of the prepared powder, the effect of annealing temperature, chemical composition and preparation technique on the microstructure, magnetization and the particle size of the Mn–Cu ferrite nanoparticles are discussed. XRD results clearly show that the lattice parameter and crystallite size are increased with annealing temperature. The average crystallite sizes of the samples are in the range ∼17–55 nm. SEM photograph of the sample shows the shape of the particles is almost spherical. Particle size and the microstructure of the sample annealed at 900 °C have been visualized by TEM. The quantitative analysis of EDX spectrum results that the relative atomic ratio of manganese substituted CuFe2O4 is close to the expected values. The effect of annealing temperature on the magnetic properties of the samples is analyzed by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Due to the pure ferrite nature of the sample, the as-burnt sample has high value of saturation magnetization (Ms = 43.41 emu/g) than the annealed samples. Furthermore, conductance response of Mn–Cu ferrite nanomaterial was measured by exposing the material to reducing gas like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) which showed a sensor response of 0.2 at an optimum operating temperature of 250 °C.