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Tribotronic transistor sensor for enhanced hydrogen detection

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Abstract

Hydrogen detection with a high sensitivity is necessary for preventing potential explosions and fire. In this study, a novel ZnO tribotronic transistor is developed by coupling a ZnO field effect transistor (FET) and triboelectric nanogenerator in free-standing mode and is used as a sensor for hydrogen detection at room temperature. Tribotronic modulated performances of the hydrogen sensor are demonstrated by investigating its output characteristics at different sliding distances and hydrogen concentrations. By applying an external mechanical force to the device for sliding electrification, the detection sensitivity of the ZnO tribotronic transistor sensor is improved, with a significant enhancement achieved in output current by 62 times at 500 ppm hydrogen and 1 V bias voltage. This study demonstrates an extension of the applications of emerging tribotronics for gas detection and a prospective approach to improve the performance of the hydrogen sensor via human-interfacing.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the support of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51475099), Beijing Natural Science Foundation (No. 4163077), Beijing Nova Program (No. Z171100001117054), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association, CAS (No. 2014033), the “thousands talents” program for the pioneer researcher and his innovation team, China, and National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2016YFA0202704).

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Author notes

  1. Yaokun Pang and Libo Chen contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yaokun Pang, Libo Chen, Guofeng Hu, Jianjun Luo, Zhiwei Yang, Chi Zhang & Zhong Lin Wang

  2. National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), Beijing, 100190, China

    Yaokun Pang, Libo Chen, Guofeng Hu, Jianjun Luo, Zhiwei Yang, Chi Zhang & Zhong Lin Wang

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yaokun Pang, Libo Chen, Guofeng Hu, Jianjun Luo & Zhiwei Yang

  4. School of Material Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA

    Zhong Lin Wang

Authors
  1. Yaokun Pang
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  2. Libo Chen
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  6. Chi Zhang
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Correspondence to Chi Zhang or Zhong Lin Wang.

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Pang, Y., Chen, L., Hu, G. et al. Tribotronic transistor sensor for enhanced hydrogen detection. Nano Res. 10, 3857–3864 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1599-y

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