Synthesis and Characterization of Non-Stoichiometric Li1.1Co0.3Fe2.1O4 Ferrite Nanoparticles For Humidity Applications

Abstract

Humidity sensor plays a crucial role in determining the efficiency of materials and the precision of apparatuses. To measure and control humidity, a non-stoichiometric Li1.1Co0.3Fe2.1O4 mesopores sensor is synthesized by a modified citrate auto combustion technique. The XRD study confirms that prepared nanoparticles are cubic spinel structures having Fd3m space group. The crystallite size is approximate 36 nm. Thermal analyses measurements confirm that the samples become thermally stable starting from 600 °C. Additionally, the kinetic studies of the prepared samples are calculated via a pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The temperature dependence of AC conductivity is found to increase with increasing the temperature. These observations are explained in various models. The resistivity mechanism of humidity sensors is studied via Complex impedance spectroscopy (CIS). Its impedance data is fitting to a corresponding circuit, to achieve a simulation of the sample under study. This fitting is detected by the Nyquist plot (Cole-Cole). The obtained data confirms that the studied samples are very sensitive to humidity and can be commercially used as a humidity sensing element.