LPG gas sensing performance of La^3+-doped Mg0.6 {Cd0.4} Fe₂ O_4 $ thin films synthesized via spray pyrolysis

This paper presents the results of {Mg0.6} <![CDATA[ {Cd0.4} {La0.02} {Fe1.98} O_4 thin films doped with magnesium and cadmium, respectively, and formed by an oxalate co-precipitation process, and then the films were deposited by spray pyrolysis technique. The ferrite powders that were produced through the co-precipitation process were thermally stabilized and reduced to fine suspension to be sprayed onto the glass substrates to obtain uniform well bonded thin films. The XRD analysis showed that post-annealing of the deposited films led to highly crystalline cubic spinel structure. FTIR spectra revealed typical tetrahedral and octahedral vibrational patterns of the oxygens of the metal and FESEM images revealed porous nanostructured morphology which allows gas diffusion and surface contact. The sensing of LPG indicated that the most sensitive of the La^{{3+}} -doped ferrite thin films were at room temperature of 300°C in which the sensitivity was very low to LPG compared to Cl_2 and NH_3 . The La^{{3+}} doped ferrite thin films demonstrate an improved LPG sensing response because of an increased. Such findings confirm the possible potential of La^{{3+}} doped Mg-Cd ferrite thin films as promising materials to be used in the reliable LPG detection.