A Bioinspired Adhesive-Integrated-Agent Strategy for Constructing Robust Gas-Sensing Arrays.

ABSTRACT

Gas sensors based on organic molecules are attractive for their tailored molecular structures and controllable functions, but weak interfacial adhesion between sensing materials and supporting substrates has severely hampered their practical applications, particularly in harsh environments. Here, inspired by the combined anchoring-recognizing feature of natural olfactory systems, an adhesive-integrated-agent strategy to integrate the adhesive unit (poly(dimethylsiloxane)) with the sensing unit (organoplatinum(II)) into one chemistry entity, creating robust and sensitive nanobelt array gas sensors is demonstrated. Systematic theoretical and experimental studies reveal that incorporating adhesive units significantly enhances the interfacial adhesion of the array sensors and gas-bridged super-exchange electronic couplings of sensing units ensure their efficient gas-sensing performance. The high shear strength of ≈7.05 × 106 N m-2 allows these arrays to resist aggressive ultrasonication, tape peeling, or repeated bending without compromising their sensing performance. This molecular engineering strategy opens a new guideline to develop robust gas sensors.