AUTHOR=Cheng Hongdao , Huang Sihuan , Xing Zengshan , Yang Lu , Yu Jianhui , Zhong Yongchun 

TITLE=Enhanced sensing response of the three dimensional MoS2 microstructure for NO2 gas detection at room temperature

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physics

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physics/articles/10.3389/fphy.2024.1446416

DOI=10.3389/fphy.2024.1446416

ISSN=2296-424X

ABSTRACT=<p>As a promising sensing material, Molybdenum disulfide (MoS<sub>2</sub>) nanosheets is being increasingly studied for Nitrogen dioxide (NO<sub>2</sub>) gas sensing. However, the MoS<sub>2</sub> nanosheets is prone to the stacking effect that compromises the sensing performances. Here, the stacking effect is mitigated by engineering MoS<sub>2</sub> nanosheets into a three dimensional (3D) network microstructure, which was fabricated by method of electrostatically self-assembling of MoS<sub>2</sub>/SiO<sub>2</sub> microspheres. The fabricated sensor based on 3D MoS<sub>2</sub> network observed a significantly improved response of 15% to 12.3 ppm NO<sub>2</sub>, which is a 75-fold increase compared to the control sensor with pure MoS<sub>2</sub> nanosheets. In addition, the sensitivity of the sensor with 3D MoS<sub>2</sub> network was 6.15 times larger than that of the control sensor with pure MoS<sub>2</sub> nanosheets. The detection limit of our sensor was 0.297 ppm, lower than most of reported MoS<sub>2</sub>-based NO<sub>2</sub> sensors. The enhanced sensitivity and dynamic response stem from the improved interaction between NO<sub>2</sub> molecules and MoS<sub>2</sub> network, thanks to its increased surface area per footprint of MoS<sub>2</sub> nanosheets compared to pure 2D MoS<sub>2</sub> film (single- or few-layer). This work presents a new approach to enhancing the performance of gas sensors based on 2D materials.</p>