Highly sensitive formaldehyde chemical sensor based on hydrothermally prepared spinel ZnFe2O4 nanorods

A considerable effort has been made for the growth and development of face-centered-cubic spinel zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) nanorods using hydrothermal method at room conditions. The structural, optical and chemical properties of ZnFe2O4 nanorods were characterized using various methods such as UV/visible, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy etc. Spinel ZnFe2O4 is an attractive nanorods for potential application in chemical sensing by easy and reliable I–V method, where formaldehyde is considered as a model compound. The chemical sensor performances are exhibited the higher sensitivity, good stability, and repeatability of the sensor enhanced significantly using spinel ZnFe2O4 nanorods of thin-film with conducting binders on silver electrodes (AgE). The calibration plot is linear over the large dynamic range, where the sensitivity (∼4.10 ± 0.05 μA cm−2 mM−1) and detection limit (∼0.0089 μM) were calculated based on signal/noise ratio (∼3N/S) in short response time. Finally, it is concluded that the structural and optical characteristics could be encompassed to a broad-scale in spinel ZnFe2O4 nanorods and efficient chemical sensor applications for environmental and healthcare fields.