High-performance acetone gas sensor based on ferrite–DyFeO 3

Rare earth ferrite–DyFeO3 powders with variable particle sizes and surface areas were prepared by the sol–gel method with annealing at 600 °C, 700 °C, 800 °C, and 900 °C to research the acetone sensing properties. The DyFeO3 powders annealed at 800 °C showed a good response to acetone and can be used as an acetone sensor due to its excellent microstructure. Moreover, the best response of 3.81 for the DyFeO3 sensor was observed at the operating temperature of 190 °C in 2 ppm acetone atmosphere. The response and recovery time were 42 s and 44 s, respectively, indicating that the DyFeO3 material annealed at 800 °C can be used as a reusable acetone sensor. In addition, the DyFeO3 material has excellent selectivity to acetone compared with 2 ppm other gases (ammonia, methanol, formaldehyde, ethanol and acetylacetone), suggesting that the application of DyFeO3 material in acetone sensors is promising.