Enhanced Electrical Conductivity of Graphite through Band Gap Reduction by Ferrite Nanoparticles

Ajay Kumar; Shikha Aeron; Manish Pant; Hari Krishan; Saifullah Zaphar; Ankit Mittal; Narinder Kumar

doi:10.21271/ZJPAS.37.2.5

Authors

Ajay Kumar Department of Chemistry, School and Applied and Life Sciences, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India- 248007
Shikha Aeron Department of CSE, Tula’s Institute, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India- 248197
Manish Pant Department of Chemistry, DIT University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India- 248009
Hari Krishan Department of Chemistry, Michigan Diagnostic LLC, 2611 Parmenter Blvd, Royal Oak, MI, USA 48073
Saifullah Zaphar Department of Renewable Energy and Efficiency, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India-136119
Ankit Mittal Department of Chemistry, Shyam Lal College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110032
Narinder Kumar Department of Physics, Uttaranchal Institute of Technology, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India- 248007

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21271/ZJPAS.37.2.5

Keywords:

ferrite nanoparticles, Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, energy conservation and storage

Abstract

In this study, an effort was made to fabricate a series of electrically conductive papers (ECPs) by dispersing varying concentrations (%, w/w) of ferrite nanoparticles (FNPs, 8.27 nm) into a graphite matrix bind with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC, 46.15%, w/w) and depositing this composite over cellulose paper (CP) (4 cm²). FNP concentrations ranged from 1.0% to 3.0%. The surface characteristics of the ECPs were analyzed using SEM, while XRD was employed to confirm the crystallinity of the coating. The crystallite size of FNPs was calculated from the XRD data using the Scherrer equation. The effect of FNP addition on the thermal stability of the ECPs was also assessed. To confirm the semiconducting nature of ECPs, DC conductivity (σDC) was measured via the four-probe method. Additionally, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was used to evaluate the effect of coating on the optical band gap (OBG) of the nanocomposities (NCs) over cellulose paper. Notably, FNPs significantly contributed to the reduction of the graphite-coated ECPs' band gap. This study presents a simple, reproducible method for fabricating and characterizing ECPs, highlighting their potential as electrodes for energy conservation and storage applications.

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