Spinel ferrite nanoparticles for gas sensor applications

A physical object is differing appreciably in properties from the corresponding bulk material to 1 nm dimension (not more than 100 nm). Nanotechnology is the technology dealing with both single nanoobjects and materials, and devices based on them, and with processes that take place in the nanometer range. These nanomaterials are those materials whose key physical characteristics are dictated by the nanoobjects they contain. Nanomaterials are classified into compact materials and nanodispersions. The first type includes so-called nanostructured materials, i.e., materials isotropic in the macroscopic composition and consisting of contacting nanometer-sized units as repeating structural elements. The nanopowders whose grains are separated by thin (often monoatomic) layers of light atoms, which prevent them from agglomeration. Materials containing magnetic nanoparticles, isolated in nonmagnetic matrices at the distances longer than their diameters, are most interesting for magnetic investigations.