Nanocomposite ZnNb₂O₆ Thick Film as Room Temperature Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Sensor

Richa Srivastava^1,

¹Nanomaterial sensor Research Lab Department of Physics, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, U.P., India

Cite this paper:
Richa Srivastava. Nanocomposite ZnNb₂O₆ Thick Film as Room Temperature Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Sensor. American Journal of Sensor Technology. 2014; 2(2):25-28. doi: 10.12691/ajst-2-2-3

Abstract

In the present work, thick film of zinc niobium oxide was prepared by screen printing technology and its LPG sensing properties were investigated. The structural and surface morphological characterizations of the material were analyzed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The minimum crystallite size of ZnNb₂O₆ calculated from Scherrer’s formula was found to be 25 nm. SEM images exhibit the porous nature of sensing material with a number of active sites. The average size of pores of nanocomposite ZnNb₂O₆ was found to be 4 µm. The LPG sensing properties of the film were investigated at room temperature 26C 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 value of sensitivity was found 4.8 for 4 vol. % of LPG. These experimental results show that ZnNb₂O₆ nanocomposite is a capable material for LPG sensor.

Keywords:
Sensor morphology sensitivity nanomaterial pores LPG

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