CO Sensing Properties of La1-xCaxFeO3 Perovskite Nanocrystalline Materials

The La1-xCaxFeO3 nanocrystalline powders were prepared by sol-gel method. These powders crystallized as perovskite orthorhombic structure. With an increase of Ca content, the resistance of La1-xCaxFeO3 sensors in air decreases at first, undergoes a minimum at x=0.3, and then increases again. La1-xCaxFeO3-based sensors show sensitive responses to CO. Among those La1-xCaxFeO3-based sensors, the sensor with x=0.2 shows the highest response to 200 ppm CO at operating temperatures below 325°C. The highest response S=(RCO-Rair)/RCO for the La0.8Ca0.2FeO3 based sensor to 200 ppm CO is 87% with response time 15 s and recovery time 60 s at an operating temperature of 100°C.