Ultrasensitive Room-Temperature NO2 Detection Using SnS2/MWCNT Composites and Accelerated Recovery Kinetics by UV Activation.

High performance with lower power consumption is one among the essential features of a sensing device. Minute traces of hazardous gases such as NO2 are difficult to detect. Tin disulfide (SnS2) nanosheets have emerged as a promising NO2 sensor. However, their poor room-temperature conductivity gives rise to inferior sensitivity and sluggish recovery rates, thereby hindering their applications. To mitigate this problem, we present a low-cost ultrasensitive NO2 gas sensor with tin disulfide/multiwalled carbon nanotube (SnS2/MWCNT) nanocomposites, prepared using a single-step hydrothermal method, as sensing elements. Relative to pure SnS2, the conductivity of nanocomposites improved significantly. The sensor displayed a decrease in resistance when exposed to NO2, an oxidizing gas, and exhibited p-type conduction, also confirmed in separate Mott-Schottky measurements. At a temperature of 20 °C, the sensor device has a relative response of about ≈5% (3%) for 25 ppb (1 ppb) of NO2 with complete recovery in air (10 min) and excellent recovery rates with UV activation (0.3 min). A theoretical lower limit of detection (LOD) of 7 ppt implies greater sensitivity than all previously reported SnS2-based gas sensors, to the best of our knowledge. The improved sensing characteristics were attributed to the formation of nano p-n heterojunctions, which enhances the charge transport and gives rise to faster response. The composite sensor also demonstrated good NO2 selectivity against a variety of oxidizing and reducing gases, as well as excellent stability and long-term durability. This work will provide a fresh perspective on SnS2-based composite materials for practical gas sensors.

Humidity-Tolerant Room-Temperature Selective Dual Sensing and Discrimination of NH3 and NO Using a WS2/MWCNT Composite.

Continuous detection of toxic and hazardous gases like nitric oxide (NO) and ammonia (NH3) is needed for environmental management and noninvasive diagnosis of various diseases. However, to the best of our knowledge, dual detection of these two gases has not been previously reported. To address the challenge, we demonstrate the design and fabrication of low-cost NH3 and NO dual gas sensors using tungsten disulfide/multiwall carbon nanotube (WS2/MWCNT) nanocomposites as sensing channels which maintained their performance in a humid environment. The composite-based device has shown successful dual detection at temperatures down to 18 °C and relative humidity of 90%. For 0.1 ppm ammonia, it exhibited a p-type conduction with response and recovery times of 102 and 261 s, respectively; on the other hand, with NO (10 ppb, n-type), these times were 285 and 198 s, respectively. The device with 5 mg MWCNTs possesses a superior selectivity along with a relative response of ≈7% (5 ppb) and ≈5% (0.1 ppm) for NO and NH3, respectively, at 18 °C. The response is less affected by relative humidity, and this is attributed to the presence of MWCNTs that are hydrophobic in nature. Upon simultaneous exposure to NO (5-10 ppb) and NH3 (0.1-5 ppm), the response was dominated by NO, implying clear discrimination to the simultaneous presence of these two gases. We propose a sensing mechanism based on adsorption/desportion and accompanied charge transfer between the adsorbed gas molecules and sensing surface. The results suggest that an optimized weight ratio of WS2 and MWCNTs could govern favorable sensing conditions for a particular gas molecule.