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Light enhanced room temperature resistive NO2 sensor based on a gold-loaded organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite incorporating tin dioxide

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Abstract

A material is described for sensing NO2 in the gas phase. It has an architecture of type Au/MASnI3/SnO2 (where MA stands for methylammonium cation) and was fabricated by first synthesizing Au/MASnI3 and then crystallizing SnO2 on the surface by calcination. The physical and NO2 sensing properties of the composite were examined at room temperature without and with UV (365 nm) illumination, and the NO2-sensing mechanism was studied. The characterization demonstrated the formation of a p-n heterojunction structure between p-MASnI3 and n-SnO2. The sensor, best operated at a voltage of 1.1 V at room temperature, displays superior NO2 sensing performance. Figures of merit include (a) high response (Rg/Ra = 240 for 5 ppm NO2; where Rg stands for the resistance of a sensor in test gas, and Ra stands for the resistance of a sensor in air), (b) fast recovery (about 12 s), (c) excellent selectivity compared to sensors based on the use of SnO2 or Au/SnO2 only, both at room temperature under UV illumination; (d) a low detection limit (55 ppb), and (e) a linear response between 0.5 and 10 ppm of NO2. The enhanced sensing performance is mainly attributed to the high light absorption capacity of MASnI3, the easy generation and transfer of photo-induced electrons from MASnI3 to the conduction band of SnO2, and the catalytic effect of gold nanoparticles.

Schematic of the energy band diagrams of the gold-functionalized MASnI3/SnO2 system after equilibrium with UV illumination, by which the enhanced sensing performance for NO2 can be explained.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Opening Project of Key Laboratory of Inorganic Functional Materials and Devices, Chinese Academy of Sciences (KLIFMD201704), National Natural Science Foundation of China (61671284; U1704255), National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFB0102900), Shanghai Pujiang Program (17PJD016) and the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (Peak Discipline Construction program). We also acknowledge the Instrumental Analysis and Research Center of Shanghai University for providing measurement services.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NEST Lab, Department of Chemistry, Department of Physics, College of Science, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China

    Yilu Chen, Xinyu Zhang, Zhigang Zeng, Hongbin Zhao, Xiaohong Wang & Jiaqiang Xu

  2. CAS Key Laboratory of Inorganic Functional Materials and Devices, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200050, China

    Zhifu Liu

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  1. Yilu Chen
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Chen, Y., Zhang, X., Liu, Z. et al. Light enhanced room temperature resistive NO2 sensor based on a gold-loaded organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite incorporating tin dioxide. Microchim Acta 186, 47 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-018-3155-1

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