• Nano-Micro Letters
  • Vol. 16, Issue 1, 277 (2024)
Wenjing Quan1,2, Jia Shi1,2, Min Zeng1,*, Wen Lv1,2..., Xiyu Chen1,2, Chao Fan1,2, Yongwei Zhang1,2, Zhou Liu1,2, Xiaolu Huang1,2, Jianhua Yang1,2, Nantao Hu1,2, Tao Wang3 and Zhi Yang1,**|Show fewer author(s)
Author Affiliations
  • 1National Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro and Nano Manufacture Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China
  • 2Department of Micro/Nano Electronics, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China
  • 3Shanghai Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Detection Technology, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, People’s Republic of China
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    DOI: 10.1007/s40820-024-01484-4 Cite this Article
    Wenjing Quan, Jia Shi, Min Zeng, Wen Lv, Xiyu Chen, Chao Fan, Yongwei Zhang, Zhou Liu, Xiaolu Huang, Jianhua Yang, Nantao Hu, Tao Wang, Zhi Yang. Highly Sensitive Ammonia Gas Sensors at Room Temperature Based on the Catalytic Mechanism of N, C Coordinated Ni Single-Atom Active Center[J]. Nano-Micro Letters, 2024, 16(1): 277 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    Significant challenges are posed by the limitations of gas sensing mechanisms for trace-level detection of ammonia (NH3). In this study, we propose to exploit single-atom catalytic activation and targeted adsorption properties to achieve highly sensitive and selective NH3 gas detection. Specifically, Ni single-atom active sites based on N, C coordination (Ni–N–C) were interfacially confined on the surface of two-dimensional (2D) MXene nanosheets (Ni–N–C/Ti3C2Tx), and a fully flexible gas sensor (MNPE–Ni–N–C/Ti3C2Tx) was integrated. The sensor demonstrates a remarkable response value to 5 ppm NH3 (27.3%), excellent selectivity for NH3, and a low theoretical detection limit of 12.1 ppb. Simulation analysis by density functional calculation reveals that the Ni single-atom center with N, C coordination exhibits specific targeted adsorption properties for NH3. Additionally, its catalytic activation effect effectively reduces the Gibbs free energy of the sensing elemental reaction, while its electronic structure promotes the spill-over effect of reactive oxygen species at the gas–solid interface. The sensor has a dual-channel sensing mechanism of both chemical and electronic sensitization, which facilitates efficient electron transfer to the 2D MXene conductive network, resulting in the formation of the NH3 gas molecule sensing signal. Furthermore, the passivation of MXene edge defects by a conjugated hydrogen bond network enhances the long-term stability of MXene-based electrodes under high humidity conditions. This work achieves highly sensitive room-temperature NH3 gas detection based on the catalytic mechanism of Ni single-atom active center with N, C coordination, which provides a novel gas sensing mechanism for room-temperature trace gas detection research.
    Wenjing Quan, Jia Shi, Min Zeng, Wen Lv, Xiyu Chen, Chao Fan, Yongwei Zhang, Zhou Liu, Xiaolu Huang, Jianhua Yang, Nantao Hu, Tao Wang, Zhi Yang. Highly Sensitive Ammonia Gas Sensors at Room Temperature Based on the Catalytic Mechanism of N, C Coordinated Ni Single-Atom Active Center[J]. Nano-Micro Letters, 2024, 16(1): 277
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