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Ultrasensitive H2S gas sensors based on p-type WS2 hybrid materials

Nano Research volume 11, pages 4215–4224 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Owing to their higher intrinsic electrical conductivity and chemical stability with respect to their oxide counterparts, nanostructured metal sulfides are expected to revive materials for resistive chemical sensor applications. Herein, we explore the gas sensing behavior of WS2 nanowire-nanoflake hybrid materials and demonstrate their excellent sensitivity (0.043 ppm-1) as well as high selectivity towards H2S relative to CO, NH3, H2, and NO (with corresponding sensitivities of 0.002, 0.0074, 0.0002, and 0.0046 ppm-1, respectively). Gas response measurements, complemented with the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and first-principles calculations based on density functional theory, suggest that the intrinsic electronic properties of pristine WS2 alone are not sufficient to explain the observed high sensitivity towards H2S. A major role in this behavior is also played by O doping in the S sites of the WS2 lattice. The results of the present study open up new avenues for the use of transition metal disulfide nanomaterials as effective alternatives to metal oxides in future applications for industrial process control, security, and health and environmental safety.

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Acknowledgements

Funding received from Bio4Energy programme, Academy of Finland (projects Suplacat and ClintoxNP (No. 268944)), University of Oulu (More than Moore research community) and University of Oulu Graduate School (Infotech Oulu) is acknowledged. We acknowledge support from the EU (No. ERC-2016-AdG-694097 QSpec-NewMat) and the Basque Government “Grupos Consolidados UPV/EHU” (No. IT578-13). J. J. B. and L. D. X. thank the EU for the Marie Curie Fellowship (Nos. H2020-MSCA-IF-2016-751047 and H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-709382). A. P. P. thanks postdoctoral fellowship from the Spanish “Juan de la Cierva-incorporación” program (No. IJCI-2014-20147). We also would like to acknowledge Sami Saukko (Center of Microscopy and Nanotechnology, University of Oulu) for his assistance with TEM analyses. A. L. S. acknowledges the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU No. 2009-00971).

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Microelectronics Research Unit, Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4500, FI-90014, Oulu, Finland

    Georgies Alene Asres, Aron Dombovari, Topias Järvinen, Gabriela Simone Lorite, Melinda Mohl, Anita Lloyd Spetz, Heli Jantunen & Krisztian Kordás

  2. Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761, Hamburg, Germany

    José J. Baldoví, Lede Xian & Ángel Rubio

  3. Nano-Bio Spectroscopy Group, European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility (ETSF), Universidad del País Vasco, CFM SCIC-UPV/EHU-MPC DIPC, Avenida Tolosa 72, 20018, San Sebastian, Spain

    José J. Baldoví, Alejandro Pérez Paz, Lede Xian & Ángel Rubio

  4. Technical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Chemical-Biological Centre, Umeå University, SE-90187, Umeå, Sweden

    Andrey Shchukarev & Jyri-Pekka Mikkola

  5. School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, School of Physics and Nanotechnology, Yachay Tech University, Urcuquí, Ecuador

    Alejandro Pérez Paz

  6. Industrial Chemistry & Reaction Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Johan Gadolin Process Chemistry Centre, Åbo Akademi University, FI-20500, Åbo-Turku, Finland

    Jyri-Pekka Mikkola

  7. Sensor and Actuator Systems, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University, SE-58183, Linköping, Sweden

    Anita Lloyd Spetz

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  1. Georgies Alene Asres
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Correspondence to Ángel Rubio or Krisztian Kordás.

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Asres, G.A., Baldoví, J.J., Dombovari, A. et al. Ultrasensitive H2S gas sensors based on p-type WS2 hybrid materials. Nano Res. 11, 4215–4224 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2009-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2009-9

Keywords

  • WS2
  • nanowire
  • nanoflake
  • gas sensor
  • H2S
  • O doping