6–10 Jul 2026
University of the Western Cape
Africa/Johannesburg timezone
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The gas-sensing properties of n-type and p-type metal fluorides on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for agricultural management applications.

7 Jul 2026, 17:20
1h 20m
Great Hall (University of the Western Cape)

Great Hall

University of the Western Cape

Poster Presentation Track A - Physics of Condensed Matter and Materials Poster Session 1

Speaker

DINEO MOLEBATSI (UNISA)

Description

In this study, n-type and p-type semiconductor metal fluoride (M-F) gas sensors were synthesized using a straightforward and scalable co-precipitation method. Their structural, morphological, vibrational, and gas-sensing properties were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the successful formation of well-crystallized n-type (ZrF₂, SnF₂, ZnF₂) and p-type (NiF₂, CrF₂, CoF₂) phases, each exhibiting distinct lattice parameters and crystallite sizes. The phase control was achieved through co-precipitation and calcination at 250ºC. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs displayed porous morphologies for each material at the nanoparticle level. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis verified the presence of the target M-F elements and demonstrated a homogeneous distribution of the constituents. Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) surface area and porosity measurements correlated with the available active sites for the adsorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the diffusion kinetics in agricultural sensing application. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) identified the surface functional groups, primarily consisting of M-F vibrations at wavenumbers below 800cm-1, thereby providing valuable insights into the chemical nature of the sensing and guiding future evaluations in the detection of agricultural VOCs.

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