Characterization of Yttrium orthoferrite (YFeO3) nanoparticles as humidity sensor materials at room temperature

In the recent years more and more attention has been directed to the study of potential application of ferrite nanoparticles as the humidity sensing materials. In this paper, we reports the humidity sensing characteristics of yttrium orthoferrite (YFeO
₃
) nanoparticles synthesized by a mechanochemical route from mixture of Y
₂
O
₃
and α-Fe
₂
O
₃
powders in a planetary ball mill. Structural analysis of ultrafine YFeO
₃
nanoparticles with an average size of about 12.4 nm was performed by means of SEM and X-ray diffraction measurements. The electrical measurements were made in the frequency range 100 Hz to 5 MHz. The dependence of impedance response on the relative humidity has been also examined. The relative humidity was generated is in the range from 15% RH to 85% RH at room temperature. Under these conditions, the linear response in the entire relative humidity range was observed at relatively low measurement frequency i.e. at 5 kHz. Good repeatability and stability was also observed.