Interface Bonds Determined Gas-Sensing of SnO2-SnS2 Hybrids to Ammonia at Room Temperature

Recent Advances in Structure Design and Application of Metal Halide Perovskite-Based Gas Sensor

Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) are emerging gas-sensing materials and have attracted considerable attention in gas sensors due to their unique bandgap structure and tunable optoelectronic properties. The past decade has witnessed significant developments in the gas-sensing field; however, their intrinsic structural instability and ambiguous gas-sensing mechanisms hamper their practical applications. Herein, we summarize the recent advances in MHP-based gas sensors. The physicochemical properties of MHPs are discussed at first. The structure design, including dimension design and engineering design, is overviewed as well as their fabrication methods, and we put forward our insights into the gas-sensing mechanism of MHPs. It is believed that enhanced understanding of gas-sensing mechanisms of MHPs are helpful for their application as gas-sensing materials, and structure design can enhance their stability, sensing sensitivity, and selectivity to target gases as gas sensors. Subsequently, the latest developments in MHP-based gas sensors are summarized according to their different application scenarios. Finally, we conclude with the current status and challenges in this field and propose future perspectives.

High-Yield WS2 Synthesis through Sulfurization in Custom-Modified Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition Reactor, Paving the Way for Selective NH3 Vapor Detection

Nanostructured transition metal dichalcogenides have garnered significant research interest for physical and chemical sensing applications due to their unique crystal structure and large effective surface area. However, the high-yield synthesis of these materials on different substrates and in nanostructured films remains a challenge that hinders their real-world applications. In this work, we demonstrate the synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) tungsten disulfide (WS2) sheets on a hundred-milligram scale by sulfurization of tungsten trioxide (WO3) powder in an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition reactor. The as-synthesized WS2 powders can be formulated into inks and deposited on a broad range of substrates using techniques like screen or inkjet printing, spin-coating, drop-casting, or airbrushing. Structural, morphological, and chemical composition analysis confirm the successful synthesis of edge-enriched WS2 sheets. The sensing performance of the WS2 films prepared with the synthesized 2D material was evaluated for ammonia (NH3) detection at different operating temperatures. The results reveal exceptional gas sensing responses, with the sensors showing a 100% response toward 5 ppm of NH3 at 150 °C. The sensor detection limit was experimentally verified to be below 1 ppm of NH3 at 150 °C. Selectivity tests demonstrated the high selectivity of the edge-enriched WS2 films toward NH3 in the presence of interfering gases like CO, benzene, H2, and NO2. Furthermore, the sensors displayed remarkable stability against high levels of humidity, with only a slight decrease in response from 100% in dry air to 93% in humid environments. Density functional theory and Bayesian optimization simulations were performed, and the theoretical results agree with the experimental findings, revealing that the interaction between gas molecules and WS2 is primarily based on physisorption.

Si, O-Codoped Carbonized Polymer Dots with High Chemiresistive Gas Sensing Performance at Room Temperature

A new type of carbonized polymer dot was prepared by the one-step hydrothermal method of triethoxylsilane (TEOS) and citric acid (CA). The sensor made from carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) showed superior gas sensing performance toward ammonia at room temperature. The Si, O-codoped CPDs exhibited superior ammonia sensing performance at room temperature, including a low practical limit of detection (pLOD) of 1 ppm (Ra/Rg: 1.10, 1 ppm), short response/recovery time (30/36 s, 1 ppm), high humidity resistance (less than 5% undulation when changing relative humidity to 80 from 30%), high stability (less than 5% initial response undulation after 120 days), reliable repeatability, and high selectivity against other interferential gases. The gas sensing mechanism was investigated through control experiments and in situ FTIR, indicating that Si, O-codoping essentially improves the electron transfer capability of CPDs and synergistically dominates the superior ammonia sensing properties of the CPDs. This work presents a facile strategy for constructing novel high-performance, single-component carbonized polymer dots for gas sensing.

Tungsten-based nanocatalysts with different structures for visible light responsive photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A

Environmental pollution, such as water contamination, is a critical issue that must be absolutely addressed. Here, three different morphologies of tungsten-based photocatalysts (WO3 nanorods, WO3/WS2 nanobricks, WO3/WS2 nanorods) are made using a simple hydrothermal method by changing the solvents (H2O, DMF, aqueous HCl solution). The as-prepared nanocatalysts have excellent thermal stability, large porosity, and high hydrophilicity. The results show all materials have good photocatalytic activity in aqueous media, with WO3/WS2 nanorods (NRs) having the best activity in the photodegradation of bisphenol A (BPA) under visible-light irradiation. This may originate from increased migration of charge carriers and effective prevention of electron‒hole recombination in WO3/WS2 NRs, whereby this photocatalyst is able to generate more reactive •OH and •O2- species, leading to greater photocatalytic activity. About 99.6% of BPA is photodegraded within 60 min when using 1.5 g/L WO3/WS2 NRs and 5.0 mg/L BPA at pH 7.0. Additionally, the optimal conditions (pH, catalyst dosage, initial BPA concentration) for WO3/WS2 NRs are also elaborately investigated. These rod-like heterostructures are expressed as potential catalysts with excellent photostability, efficient reusability, and highly active effectivity in different types of water. In particular, the removal efficiency of BPA by WO3/WS2 NRs reduces by only 1.5% after five recycling runs and even reaches 89.1% in contaminated lake water. This study provides promising insights for the nearly complete removal of BPA from wastewater or different water resources, which is advantageous to various applications in environmental remediation.

Porous SnO2 nanosheets for room temperature ammonia sensing in extreme humidity

Gas sensors based on tin dioxide (SnO2) for the detection of ammonia (NH3) have become commercially available for environmental monitoring due to their reactive qualities when exposed to different gaseous pollutants. Nevertheless, their implementation in the medical field has been hindered by certain inherent drawbacks, such as needing to operate at high temperatures, lack of selectivity, unreliable operation under high-humidity conditions, and a lower detection limit. To counter these issues, this study created 2D nanosheets of SnO2 through an optimized solvothermal method. It was found that tuning the precursor solution's pH to either neutral or 14 led to aggregated or distributed, uniform-size nanosheets with a higher crystallinity, respectively. Remarkably, the SnO2 nanosheet sensor (SNS-14) displayed a much lower response to water molecules and specific reactivity to ammonia even when subjected to reducing and oxidizing agents at 25 °C due to the micropores and chemisorbed oxygen on the nanosheets. Furthermore, the SNS-14 was seen to have the highest sensitivity to ammonia at 100 ppm, with rapid response (8 s) and recovery times (55 s) even at a high relative humidity of 70%. Its theoretical detection limit was recorded to be 64 ppt, better than any of the earlier SnO2-based chemiresistive sensors. Its exceptional sensing abilities were credited to its optimal crystallinity, specific surface area, defects, chemisorbed oxygen, and porous structure. NH3-TPD measurements and computational simulations were employed to understand the ammonia interaction with atomistic details on the SnO2 nanosheet surface. A real time breath sensing experiment was simulated to test the efficacy of the sensor. Reaching this advancement is an achievement in bypassing past boundaries of SnO2-centered sensors, making it feasible to detect ammonia with enhanced precision, discrimination, dependability, and velocity for probable usages in medical diagnostics and ecological surveillance.

Incompatibility of Pure SnO2 Thin Films for Room-Temperature Gas Sensing Application

Despite the high sensitivity and selectivity, the high operating temperature required for activation energy of tin oxide (SnO2) still stands as a drawback for SnO2 based gas sensors. In this work, the SnO2 thin films were deposited through spray pyrolysis and were subjected to gas sensing at 27 °C (room temperature) towards different gases. The films exhibited a consistently low response of approximately 1 when tested to various VOCs. The type, concentration, and mobility of charge carriers were determined from the Hall measurements. The high carrier concentration accompanied by poor mobility and grain boundary scattering is supposed to hinder its performance at room temperature. The obtained film had spherical morphology, which lead to grain boundary scatterings and decreased the mobility of carriers.

Enhanced Optical Response of SnS/SnS2 Layered Heterostructure

The SnS/SnS₂ heterostructure was fabricated by the chemical vapor deposition method. The crystal structure properties of SnS₂ and SnS were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern, Raman spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The frequency dependence photoconductivity explores its carrier kinetic decay process. The SnS/SnS₂ heterostructure shows that the ratio of short time constant decay process reaches 0.729 with a time constant of 4.3 × 10^-4 s. The power-dependent photoresponsivity investigates the mechanism of electron-hole pair recombination. The results indicate that the photoresponsivity of the SnS/SnS₂ heterostructure has been increased to 7.31 × 10^-3 A/W, representing a significant enhancement of approximately 7 times that of the individual films. The results show the optical response speed has been improved by using the SnS/SnS₂ heterostructure. These results indicate an application potential of the layered SnS/SnS₂ heterostructure for photodetection. This research provides valuable insights into the preparation of the heterostructure composed of SnS and SnS₂, and presents an approach for designing high-performance photodetection devices.

Facile fabrication of nanoflower-like WO3/WS2 heterojunction for highly sensitive NO2 detection at room temperature

Realizing efficient detection of ultra-low concentrations of hazardous gases contributes to air pollution monitoring, ecosystem and human health protection. Herein, we firstly fabricated the nanoflower-like WO₃/WS₂ composites by a facile process to highly sensitively detect NO₂ at room temperature. The WO₃ content in the WO₃/WS₂ composites can be adjusted by altering the calcination temperature, and the WO₃ nanoparticles disperse uniformly on the WS₂ surface, forming the WO₃/WS₂ heterojunction. The room-temperature responses of WO₃/WS₂ composites gradually climb with the NO₂ concentration increasing from 0.005 to 5 ppm, and the WW-280 and WW-300 composites possess the optimal gas sensitivity when the NO₂ concentrations are lower and higher than 100 ppb, respectively. In particular, the two WO₃/WS₂ composites present the limitation of detection (LOD) of ≤ 5 ppb, and they exhibit the excellent selectivity, good reproducibility and long-term stability towards NO₂. A possible gas sensing mechanism was also proposed from the point of views of gas adsorption, redox reactions and electron transfer. The appropriate WO₃ content and molar ratio of hexagonal to monoclinic WO₃, and the formation of WO₃/WS₂ p-n heterojunction can contribute to the high sensitivity of WO₃/WS₂ composite to various concentrations of NO₂. This work offers a promising gas sensing material for room-temperature detection to low concentrations of NO₂.

Highly NH3 Sensitive and Selective Ti3C2O2-Based Gas Sensors: A Density Functional Theory-NEGF Study

Ammonia (NH₃) detection at the early stage is an important precaution for human health and agricultural production. However, conventional sensing materials are difficult to achieve all the targeted operational performances such as low power consumption and high selectivity. MXenes are a type of graphene-like emergent material equipped with abundant surface sites benefiting gas-sensing applications. In the work, we discuss the sensing performance of Ti₃C₂O₂ to anticipate harmful and polluting NH₃ gases by density functional theory and nonequilibrium Green's function. The adsorption geometry, charge difference density, and partial density of states are discussed to understand the nature of interactions between gas molecules and Ti₃C₂O₂. The theoretical results show that only NH₃ adsorbs onto the nanosheet through chemisorption. Then, a two-electrode Ti₃C₂O₂-based gas sensor device is built to unravel the transport properties. Current under different bias voltages indicates the Ti₃C₂O₂-based sensor could maintain extremely high sensitivity, demonstrating that Ti₃C₂O₂ has great potential for the NH₃ sensor with high selectivity, excellent sensitivity, and low energy consumption. Upon external electric fields, the adsorption energy and charge transfer can be tuned effectively, suggesting that Ti₃C₂O₂ is a versatile agent as an ammonia-sensing material.

In Situ Synthesis of Hierarchical Flower-like Sn/SnO2 Heterogeneous Structure for Ethanol GAS Detection

In this study, morphogenetic-based Sn/SnO2 graded-structure composites were created by synthesizing two-dimensional SnO sheets using a hydrothermal technique, self-assembling into flower-like structures with an average petal width of roughly 3 um. The morphology and structure of the as-synthesized samples were characterized by utilizing SEM, XRD, XPS, etc. The gas-sensing characteristics of gas sensors based on the flower-like Sn/SnO2 were thoroughly researched. The sensor displayed exceptional selectivity, a rapid response time of 4 s, and an ultrahigh response at 250 °C (Ra/Rg = 17.46). The excellent and enhanced ethanol-gas-sensing properties were mainly owing to the three-dimensional structure and the rise in the Schottky barrier caused by the in situ production of tin particles.

Improvement of Open-Circuit Voltage Deficit via Pre-Treated NH4 + Ion Modification of Interface between SnO2 and Perovskite Solar Cells

Passivation is a popular method to increase power conversion efficiency (PCE), reduce hysteresis related to surface traps and defects, and adjust mismatched energy levels. In this paper, an approach is reported using ammonium chloride (AC) to enhance passivation effects by controlling chlorine (Cl) and ammonium ions (NH₄ ⁺ ) on the front and back side of tin oxides (SnO₂ ). AC pre-treatment is applied to indium tin-oxide (ITO) prior to SnO₂ deposition to advance the passivation approaches and compare the completely separated NH₄ ⁺ and Cl passivation effects, and sole NH₄ ⁺ is successfully isolated on the SnO₂ surface, the counterpart of AC-post-treatment, generating ammonia (NH₃ ) and Cl. It is demonstrated that multifunctional healing effects of NH₄ ⁺ are ascribed from AC-pre-treatment being the basis of SnO₂ crystallization and adjusting bifacial interface energy levels at ITO/SnO₂ and SnO₂ /perovskite to enhance photo-carrier transport. As calculated by density functional theory, how the change of the passivation agent from Cl to NH₄ ⁺ more effectively suppresses non-radiative recombination ascribed to hydrated SnO₂ surface defects is explained. Consequently, enhancement of photo-carrier transport significantly improves a superior open-circuit voltage of 1.180 V and suppresses the hysteresis, which leads to the PCE of 22.25% in an AC-pre-treated device 3.000% higher than AC-post-treated devices.

Boosting room-temperature NO2 detection via in-situ interfacial engineering on Ag2S/SnS2 heterostructures

The effective detection of hazardous gases has become extremely necessary for the ecological environment and public health. Interfacial engineering plays an indispensable role in the development of innovative materials with exceptional properties, thus triggering a new revolution in the realization of high-performance gas sensing. Herein, the rational designed Ag₂S/SnS₂ heterostructures were synthesized via a facile in-situ cation-exchange method. The coshared S atoms derived from in-situ interfacial engineering enable intimate atomic-level contact and strong electron coupling between SnS₂ and Ag₂S, which efficiently assist interfacial charge redistribution and transport as confirmed theoretically and experimentally. Benefiting from the high-quality interface of the heterostructures, the resultant Ag₂S/SnS₂ sensor delivered an ultrahigh response (286%) together with short response/recovery time (17 s/38 s) to 1 ppm NO₂. The sensor also demonstrated superior sensing selectivity and reliable repeatability at room-temperature. Such excellent sensing performance could be synergistically ascribed to the junction effect and interfacial engineering of Ag₂S/SnS₂ heterostructures, which not only modulates the electronic properties of SnS₂ but also provides abundant adsorption sites for gas sensing. This study offers guidance for engineering heterostructures with high-quality interface, which might stimulate the exploitation of other novel materials and widen their potential applications.

Heterojunctions of rGO/Metal Oxide Nanocomposites as Promising Gas-Sensing Materials-A Review

Monitoring environmental hazards and pollution control is vital for the detection of harmful toxic gases from industrial activities and natural processes in the environment, such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ammonia (NH3), hydrogen (H2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). This is to ensure the preservation of public health and promote workplace safety. Graphene and its derivatives, especially reduced graphene oxide (rGO), have been designated as ideal materials in gas-sensing devices as their electronic properties highly influence the potential to adsorb specified toxic gas molecules. Despite its exceptional sensitivity at low gas concentrations, the sensor selectivity of pristine graphene is relatively weak, which limits its utility in many practical gas sensor applications. In view of this, the hybridization technique through heterojunction configurations of rGO with metal oxides has been explored, which showed promising improvement and a synergistic effect on the gas-sensing capacity, particularly at room temperature sensitivity and selectivity, even at low concentrations of the target gas. The unique features of graphene as a preferential gas sensor material are first highlighted, followed by a brief discussion on the basic working mechanism, fabrication, and performance of hybridized rGO/metal oxide-based gas sensors for various toxic gases, including NO2, NH3, H2, H2S, CO2, and SO2. The challenges and prospects of the graphene/metal oxide-based based gas sensors are presented at the end of the review.

Layered SnS2/porous nickel foil based Schottky junction: An excellent ammonia sensor at room temperature

In recent years, layered materials has gained immense attention in the field of gas sensing owing to their extraordinary electrical, optical and catalytic properties. Their gas sensing performance can further be improved by switching from ohmic to schottky based sensor due to exponential change of conductance in analyte environment. In most of the Schottky based gas sensor, the surface of the sensing material is covered by metal electrode which reduces the sensing performance. Herein, we have fabricated 2D SnS₂ (thickness: 5.62 ± 1.26 nm) based Schottky junction for ammonia detection operated at room temperature using porous nickel foil which allows the analyte molecule to maximize the interaction with the sensing material. We have compared the performance of the Schottky junction sensor with that of SnS₂ based ohmic sensor. The Schottky junction based sensor has 140.7 times higher response than SnS₂ based ohmic sensor at 360 ppm. The response of the sensor exhibits exponential behavior with ammonia concentration which is explained by estimated barrier height modulation from 0.83 eV (in air) to 0.69 eV (at 225 ppm). In addition, the long term stability over six months of the sensor makes it a promising candidate for practical ammonia sensor operated at room temperature.

Facile synthesis of ZnO/SnO2 hybrids for highly selective and sensitive detection of formaldehyde

The ZnO–SnO2 hybrids show high gas responses and good selectivity to formaldehyde.

Room-temperature triethylamine sensing of a chemiresistive sensor based on Sm-doped SnS2/ZnS hierarchical microspheres

An Sm-doped SnS2/ZnS sensor shows excellent gas-sensing performance towards triethylamine at room temperature.

Alteration of Electronic Band Structure via a Metal-Semiconductor Interfacial Effect Enables High Faradaic Efficiency for Electrochemical Nitrogen Fixation

The interface engineering strategy has been an emerging field in terms of material improvisation that not only alters the electronic band structure of a material but also induces beneficial effects on electrochemical performances. Particularly, it is of immense importance for the environmentally benign electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), which is potentially impeded by the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The main problem lies in the attainment of the desired current density at a negotiable potential where the NRR would dominate over the HER, which in turn hampers the Faradaic efficiency for the NRR. To circumvent this issue, catalyst development becomes necessary, which would display a weak affinity for H-adsorption suppressing the HER at the catalyst surface. Herein, we have adopted the interfacial engineering strategy to synthesize our electrocatalyst NPG@SnS₂, which not only suppressed the HER on the active site but yielded 49.3% F.E. for the NRR. Extensive experimental work and DFT calculations regarded that due to the charge redistribution, the Mott-Schottky effect, and the band bending of SnS₂ across the contact layer at the interface of NPG, the d-band center for the surface Sn atoms in NPG@SnS₂ lowered, which resulted in favored adsorption of N₂ on the Sn active site. This phenomenon was driven even forward by the upshift of the Fermi level, and eventually, a decrease was seen in the work function of the heterostructure that increased the conductivity of the material as compared to pristine SnS₂. This strategy thus provides a field to methodically suppress the HER in the realm of improving the Faradaic efficiency for the NRR.

Competition between Coulomb and van der Waals Interactions in Xe-Cs^{+} Aggregates on Cu(111) Surfaces

Microscopic insight into interactions is a key for understanding the properties of heterogenous interfaces. We analyze local attraction in noncovalently bonded Xe-Cs^{+} aggregates and monolayers on Cu(111) as well as repulsion upon electron transfer. Using two-photon photoemission spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and coupled cluster calculations combined with an image-charge model, we explain the intricate impact Xe has on Cs^{+}/Cu(111). We find that attraction between Cs^{+} and Xe counterbalances the screened Coulomb repulsion between Cs^{+} ions on Cu(111). Furthermore, we observe that the Cs 6s electron is repelled from Cu(111) due to xenon's electron density. Together, this yields a dual, i.e., attractive or repulsive, response of Xe depending on the positive or negative charge of the respective counterparticle, which emphasizes the importance of the Coulomb interaction in these systems.

Thin-layered MoS2 nanoflakes vertically grown on SnO2 nanotubes as highly effective room-temperature NO2 gas sensor

The unique properties of heterostructure materials make them become a promising candidate for high-performance room-temperature (RT) NO₂ sensing. Herein, a p-n heterojunction consisting of two-dimensional (2D) MoS₂ nanoflakes vertically grown on one-dimensional (1D) SnO₂ nanotubes (NTs) was fabricated via electrospinning and subsequent hydrothermal route. The sulfur edge active sites are fully exposed in the MoS₂@SnO₂ heterostructure due to the vertically oriented thin-layered morphology features. Moreover, the interface of p-n heterojunction provides an electronic transfer channel from SnO₂ to MoS₂, which enables MoS₂ act as the generous electron donor involved in NO₂ gas senor detection. As a result, the optimized MoS₂@SnO₂-2 heterostructure presents an impressive sensitivity and selectivity for NO₂ gas detection at RT. The response value is 34.67 (R_a/R_g) to 100 ppm, which is 26.5 times to that of pure SnO_2. It also exhibits a fast response and recovery time (2.2 s, 10.54 s), as well as a low detection limit (10 ppb) and as long as 20 weeks of stability. This simple fabrication of high-performance sensing materials may facilitate the large-scale production of RT NO₂ gas sensors.

A review on two-dimensional materials for chemiresistive- and FET-type gas sensors

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have shown great potential for gas sensing applications due to their large specific surface areas and strong surface activities. In addition to the commonly reported chemiresistive-type gas sensors, field-effect transistor (FET)-type gas sensors have attracted increased attention due to their miniaturized size, low power consumption, and good compatibility with CMOS technology. In this review, we aim to discuss the recent developments in chemiresistive- and FET-type gas sensors based on 2D materials, including graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, MXenes, black phosphorene, and other layered materials. Firstly, the device structure and the corresponding fabrication process of the two types of sensors are given, and then the advantages and disadvantages are also discussed. Secondly, the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the sensing performance of 2D material-based chemiresistive and FET-type gas sensors are also detailed. Subsequently, the current gas-sensing applications of 2D material-based chemiresistive- and FET-type gas sensors are systematically presented. Finally, the future prospects of 2D materials in chemiresistive- and FET-type gas sensing applications as well as the current existing problems are pointed out, which could be helpful for the development of 2D material-based gas sensors with better sensing performance to meet the requirements for practical application.

Recent advances in energy-saving chemiresistive gas sensors: A review

With the tremendous advances in technology, gas-sensing devices are being popularly used in many distinct areas, including indoor environments, industries, aviation, and detectors for various toxic domestic gases and vapors. Even though the most popular type of gas sensor, namely, resistive-based gas sensors, have many advantages over other types of gas sensors, their high working temperatures lead to high energy consumption, thereby limiting their practical applications, especially in mobile and portable devices. As possible ways to deal with the high-power consumption of resistance-based sensors, different strategies such as self-heating, MEMS technology, and room-temperature operation using especial morphologies, have been introduced in recent years. In this review, we discuss different types of energy-saving chemisresitive gas sensors including self-heated gas sensors, MEMS based gas sensors, room temperature operated flexible/wearable sensor and their application in the fields of environmental monitoring. At the end, the review will be concluded by providing a summary, challenges, recent trends, and future perspectives.

Boosted interfacial charge transfer in SnO2/SnSe2 heterostructures: toward ultrasensitive room-temperature H2S detection

Novel Sn atom cosharing SnO₂/SnSe₂ heterostructures with a high-quality interface were synthesized via in situ thermal oxidation of SnSe. The boosted interfacial charge transfer endows the material with excellent H₂S sensing performance.

Two-dimensional materials in biomedical, biosensing and sensing applications

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are at the forefront of materials research. Here we overview their applications beyond graphene, such as transition metal dichalcogenides, monoelemental Xenes (including phosphorene and bismuthene), carbon nitrides, boron nitrides along with transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes). We discuss their usage in various biomedical and environmental monitoring applications, from biosensors to therapeutic treatment agents, their toxicity and their utility in chemical sensing. We highlight how a specific chemical, physical and optical property of 2D materials can influence the performance of bio/sensing, improve drug delivery and photo/thermal therapy as well as affect their toxicity. Such properties are determined by crystal phases electrical conductivity, degree of exfoliation, surface functionalization, strong photoluminescence, strong optical absorption in the near-infrared range and high photothermal conversion efficiency. This review conveys the great future of all the families of 2D materials, especially with the expanding 2D materials' landscape as new materials emerge such as germanene and silicene.

Innovative Approach to Photo-Chemiresistive Sensing Technology: Surface-Fluorinated SnO2 for VOC Detection

Transparent electronics continues to revolutionize the way we perceive futuristic devices to be. In this work, we propose a technologically advanced volatile organic compound (VOC) sensor in the form of a thin-film transparent display fabricated using fluorinated SnO₂ films. A solution-processed method for surface fluorination of SnO₂ films using Selectfluor as a fluorinating agent has been developed. The doped fluorine was optimized to be <1%, resulting in a significant increase in conductivity and reduction in persistent photoconductivity accompanied by a faster decay of the photogenerated charge carriers. A combination of these modified properties, together with the intrinsic sensing ability of SnO₂, was exploited in designing a transparent display sensor for ppm-level detection of VOCs at an operating temperature of merely 150 °C. Even a transparent metal mesh heater is integrated with the sensor for ease of operation, portability, and less power usage. A sensor reset method is developed while shortening the UV exposure time, enabling complete sensor recovery at low operating temperatures. The sensor is tested toward a variety of polar and nonpolar VOCs (amines, alcohols, carbonyls, alkanes, halo-alkanes, and esters), and it exhibits an easily differentiable response with sensitivity in line with the electron-donating tendency of the functional group present. This work opens up the door for multiplexed sensor arrays with the ability to detect and analyze multiple VOCs with specificity.

2D/2D heterojunction of g-C3N4/SnS2: room-temperature sensing material for ultrasensitive and rapid-recoverable NO2 detection

Heterojunction engineering plays an indispensable role in improving gas-sensing performance. However, rational heterojunction engineering to achieve room-temperature NO2 sensing with both high response and rapid recovery is still a challenge. Herein, a 2D/2D heterojunction of g-C3N4/SnS2 is designed to improve the sensing performance of SnS2 and used for ultrasensitive and rapid-recoverable NO2 detection at room temperature. The pristine SnS2 fails to work at room temperature because of its high resistivity and weak adsorption to NO2. After combination with g-C3N4 nanosheets, the g-C3N4/SnS2-based sensor exhibits an extremely high response (503%) and short recovery time (166 s) towards 1 ppm NO2 at room temperature. The improved sensing performance is primarily attributed to the increased adsorption sites and enhanced charge transfer induced by the 2D/2D heterojunctions with large interface contact area. This achievement of g-C3N4/SnS2 2D/2D heterostructures demonstrates a promising pathway for the design of sensitive gas-sensing material based on a 2D/2D heterojunction strategy.

SnS2 Quantum Dot-Based Optoelectronic Flexible Sensors for Ultrasensitive Detection of NO2 Down to 1 ppb

Transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have gained intense interest for their outstanding optoelectronic and electrochemical characteristics, utilized in versatile applications such as gas sensors and photodetectors. However, TMD-based chemiresistors suffer from poor sensitivity at ppb-level detection, and the experimental detection limit fails to reach 1 ppb. Herein, SnS₂ QD/graphene nanoheterostructures as functional flexible sensors are fabricated for NO₂ gas and light detection at room temperature. The semiconductor type of the nanohybrids can be shifted between p-type and n-type by adjusting the proportion of the components, both of which exhibit excellent gas-sensing properties. The ppb-level NO₂ detection is realized even under room temperature with superior sensitivity (860% to 125 ppb), fast response (114 s), and recovery (166 s). It also demonstrates ultrahigh sensitivity and broadband photodetection in the visible region. The photoresponsivity can reach upto 2.08 × 10³ A/W under blue light illumination and under room temperature. Especially, the influence of light illumination of different wavelengths and intensities on gas-sensing performance is studied. Red light (1 mW/cm²) greatly enhances the sensitivity up to 5.1 folds, and the device performs obvious response to NO₂ at concentrations as low as 1 ppb. Ab initio density functional theory calculation and band theories are applied to explain the interaction of the components and the effect of the light excitation inducing charge carriers on gas-sensing equilibrium.

Gas Sensors Based on Chemi-Resistive Hybrid Functional Nanomaterials

Chemi-resistive sensors based on hybrid functional materials are promising candidates for gas sensing with high responsivity, good selectivity, fast response/recovery, great stability/repeatability, room-working temperature, low cost, and easy-to-fabricate, for versatile applications. This progress report reviews the advantages and advances of these sensing structures compared with the single constituent, according to five main sensing forms: manipulating/constructing heterojunctions, catalytic reaction, charge transfer, charge carrier transport, molecular binding/sieving, and their combinations. Promises and challenges of the advances of each form are presented and discussed. Critical thinking and ideas regarding the orientation of the development of hybrid material-based gas sensor in the future are discussed.

Sn4+ and S2− co-doped N–TiO2−x nanoparticles for efficient and photocatalytic removal of contaminants

N–TiO_2−x nanoparticles (NPs) were selected as a basic construction unit because there are many Ti³⁺ and O vacancies on its surface.

Enhanced NO2 sensing performance of S-doped biomorphic SnO2 with increased active sites and charge transfer at room temperature

S-Doped biomorphic SnO₂ with active S-terminations and S–Sn–O chemical bonds has significantly improved gas sensing performance to NO₂ at room temperature.

SnS2/SnS p-n heterojunctions with an accumulation layer for ultrasensitive room-temperature NO2 detection

The unique features of SnS₂ make it a sensitive material ideal for preparing high-performance nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) gas sensors. However, sensors based on pristine tin disulfide (SnS₂) fail to work at room temperature (RT) owing to their poor intrinsic conductivity and weak adsorptivity toward the target gas, thereby impeding their wide application. Herein, an ultrasensitive and fully recoverable room-temperature NO₂ gas sensor based on SnS₂/SnS p-n heterojunctions with an accumulation layer was fabricated. The amounts of SnS₂/SnS heterojunctions can be effectively controlled by tuning the ratios of tin and sulfur precursors in the easy one-step solvothermal synthesis. Compared with pristine SnS₂, the conductivity of SnS₂/SnS heterostructures improved considerably. Such improvement was caused by the electron transfer from p-type SnS to n-type SnS₂ because the Fermi level of SnS was higher than that of SnS₂. The sensing response of optimized SnS₂/SnS toward 4 ppm NO₂ was 660% at room temperature, which was higher than most reported sensitivity values of other two-dimensional (2D) materials at room temperature. The superior sensing response of SnS₂/SnS heterostructures was attributed to the enhanced electron transport and the increased adsorption sites caused by the SnS₂/SnS p-n heterojunctions. Moreover, the SnS₂/SnS sensor showed good selectivity and long-term stability. These achievements of SnS₂/SnS heterostructured sensors make them highly desirable for practical applications.

Heterostructured SnO2-SnS2@C Embedded in Nitrogen-Doped Graphene as a Robust Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Tin-based anode materials with high capacity attract wide attention of researchers and become a strong competitor for the next generation of lithium-ion battery anode materials. However, the poor electrical conductivity and severe volume expansion retard the commercialization of tin-based anode materials. Here, SnO₂-SnS₂@C nanoparticles with heterostructure embedded in a carbon matrix of nitrogen-doped graphene (SnO₂-SnS₂@C/NG) is ingeniously designed in this work. The composite was synthesized by a two-step method. Firstly, the SnO₂@C/rGO with a nano-layer structure was synthesized by hydrothermal method as the precursor, and then the SnO₂-SnS₂@C/NG composite was obtained by further vulcanizing the above precursor. It should be noted that a carbon matrix with nitrogen-doped graphene can inhibit the volume expansion of SnO₂-SnS₂ nanoparticles and promote the transport of lithium ions during continuous cycling. Benefiting from the synergistic effect between nanoparticles and carbon matrix with nitrogen-doped graphene, the heterostructured SnO₂-SnS₂@C/NG further fundamentally confer improved structural stability and reaction kinetics for lithium storage. As expected, the SnO₂-SnS₂@C/NG composite exhibited high reversible capacity (1201.2 mA h g⁻¹ at the current rate of 0.1 A g⁻¹), superior rate capability and exceptional long-life stability (944.3 mAh g⁻¹ after 950 cycles at the current rate of 1.0 A g⁻¹). The results demonstrate that the SnO₂-SnS₂@C/NG composite is a highly competitive anode material for LIBs.

SnS2 /SnO2 Heterostructures towards Enhanced Electrochemical Performance of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have been recognized as outstanding candidates for energy storage systems due to their superiority in terms of energy density. To meet the requirements for practical use, it is necessary to develop an effective method to realize Li-S batteries with high sulfur utilization and cycle stability. Here, a strategy to construct heterostructure composites as cathodes for high performance Li-S batteries is presented. Taking the SnS₂ /SnO₂ couple as an example, SnS₂ /SnO₂ nanosheet heterostructures on carbon nanofibers (CNFs), named C@SnS₂ /SnO₂ , were designed and synthesized. Considering the electrochemical performance of SnS₂ /SnO₂ heterostructures, it is interesting to note that the existence of heterointerfaces could efficiently improve lithium ion diffusion rate so as to accelerate the redox reaction significantly, thus leading to the enhanced sulfur utilization and more excellent rate performance. Benefiting from the unique structure and heterointerfaces of C@SnS₂ /SnO₂ materials, the battery exhibited excellent cyclic stability and high sulfur utilization. This work may provide a powerful strategy for guiding the design of sulfur hosts from selecting the material composition to constructing of microstructure.

SnS2 Nanograins on Porous SiO2 Nanorods Template for Highly Sensitive NO2 Sensor at Room Temperature with Excellent Recovery

In order to develop high performance chemoresistive gas sensors for Internet of Everything applications, low power consumption should be achieved due to the limited battery capacity of portable devices. One of the most efficient ways to reduce power consumption is to lower the operating temperature to room temperature. Herein, we report superior gas sensing properties of SnS₂ nanograins on SiO₂ nanorods toward NO₂ at room temperature. The gas response is as high as 701% for 10 ppm of NO₂ with excellent recovery characteristics and the theoretical detection limit is evaluated to be 408.9 ppb at room temperature, which has not been reported for SnS₂-based gas sensors to the best of our knowledge. The SnS₂ nanograins on the template used in this study have excessive sulfur component (Sn:S = 1:2.33) and exhibit p-type conduction behavior. These results will provide a new perspective of nanostructured two-dimensional materials for gas sensor applications on demand.

Acidic Site-Assisted Ammonia Sensing of Novel CuSbS2 Quantum Dots/Reduced Graphene Oxide Composites with an Ultralow Detection Limit at Room Temperature

Novel CuSbS₂ quantum dots (QDs)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites are self-assembled via a hot-injection method, and CuSbS₂ QDs exhibit a near monodispersion on the rGO surface. The gas sensors based on CuSbS₂ QDs/rGO composites show the relatively good gas responses toward NH₃ with an outstanding detection limit of 500 ppb and an average response time of 50 s at room temperature, and visible light illumination is proven to further promote the sensing performance of the composites. The study of the sensing mechanism reveals that the acidic sites on the surface play an extremely important role in NH₃ adsorption of the composites, and the reaction between NH₃ molecules and the pre-adsorbed oxygen ions finally leads to the generation of NO molecules. The synergistic effect existing between CuSbS₂ QDs and rGO, in terms of electron transfer, is certified as well.

Electrically-Transduced Chemical Sensors Based on Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials

Electrically-transduced sensors, with their simplicity and compatibility with standard electronic technologies, produce signals that can be efficiently acquired, processed, stored, and analyzed. Two dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, including graphene, phosphorene (BP), transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), and others, have proven to be attractive for the fabrication of high-performance electrically-transduced chemical sensors due to their remarkable electronic and physical properties originating from their 2D structure. This review highlights the advances in electrically-transduced chemical sensing that rely on 2D materials. The structural components of such sensors are described, and the underlying operating principles for different types of architectures are discussed. The structural features, electronic properties, and surface chemistry of 2D nanostructures that dictate their sensing performance are reviewed. Key advances in the application of 2D materials, from both a historical and analytical perspective, are summarized for four different groups of analytes: gases, volatile compounds, ions, and biomolecules. The sensing performance is discussed in the context of the molecular design, structure-property relationships, and device fabrication technology. The outlook of challenges and opportunities for 2D nanomaterials for the future development of electrically-transduced sensors is also presented.

P–N heterointerface-determined acetone sensing characteristics of α-MoO3@NiO core@shell nanobelts

α-MoO₃@NiO nanocomposite with well-defined core@shell P–N heterojunction nanobelts was prepared which exhibited heterointerface-determined acetone sensing characteristics.

Photo-enhanced gas sensing of SnS2 with nanoscale defects

Recently a SnS₂ based NO₂ gas sensor with a 30 ppb detection limit was demonstrated but this required high operation temperatures. Concurrently, SnS₂ grown by chemical vapor deposition is known to naturally contain nanoscale defects, which could be exploited. Here, we significantly enhance the performance of a NO₂ gas sensor based on SnS₂ with nanoscale defects by photon illumination, and a detection limit of 2.5 ppb is achieved at room temperature. Using a classical Langmuir model and density functional theory simulations, we show S vacancies work as additional adsorption sites with fast adsorption times, higher adsorption energies, and an order of magnitude higher resistance change compared with pristine SnS₂. More interestingly, when electron–hole pairs are excited by photon illumination, the average adsorption time first increases and then decreases with NO₂ concentration, while the average desorption time always decreases with NO₂ concentration. Our results give a deep understanding of photo-enhanced gas sensing of SnS₂ with nanoscale defects, and thus open an interesting window for the design of high performance gas sensing devices based on 2D materials.

A photon assisted SnS₂-based gas sensor with an ultra-high sensitivity of 3 ppb NO₂ has been achieved at room temperature.