Preparation of single atom catalysts for high sensitive gas sensing

Single atom catalysts(SACs)have garnered significant attention in the field of catalysis over the past decade due to their exceptional atom utilization efficiency and distinct physical and chemical properties.For the semiconductor-based electrical gas sensor,the core is the catalysis process of target gas molecules on the sensitive materials.In this context,the SACs offer great potential for highly sensitive and selective gas sensing,however,only some of the bubbles come to the surface.To facilitate practical applications,we present a comprehensive review of the preparation strategies for SACs,with a focus on overcoming the challenges of aggregation and low loading.Extensive research efforts have been devoted to investigating the gas sensing mechanism,exploring sensitive materials,optimizing device structures,and refining signal post-processing techniques.Finally,the challenges and future perspectives on the SACs based gas sensing are presented.

A high Q terahertz metamaterial absorber using concentric elliptical ring resonators for harmful gas sensing applications

A nearly perfect metamaterial absorber is proposed that can find utility in terahertz sensing applications.The design consists of two concentric elliptical ring resonators(ERRs)whose parameters are appropriately set to achieve dual band absorption with near perfect absorption.The first absorption band at 3.62 THz having a Q-factor of 51.7 was caused due to the currents in the outer and inner ERR.The second absorption peak at 3.814 THz having a Q factor of 1411.11 was a consequence of currents flowing across the gap between the two concentric resonators.Furthermore,it is observed that the absorption bands are sensitive to the variation in refractive index of the surrounding medium.The sensitivity's in the absorption bands are 3 THz/RIU and 3.59 THz/RIU respectively.A sensor is proposed based on this design to detect harmful gases,which is demonstrated for detection of Methane and Chloroform.High Q-factor and high sensitivity of the narrow band makes the design an excellent sensor for detecting variations in the refractive index.

Smart Microcavity on the Tip of Multi-Core Optical Fiber for Gas Sensing

We designed and fabricated a smart microcavity sensor with a vertically coupled structure on the end face of a multi-core fiber using two-photon lithography technology. The influence of gap in vertical coupling structure on the resonance characteristics of bonding and anti-bonding modes in the transmission spectrum was studied through simulation and experiments. The results indicate that the bonding and anti-bonding modes generated by the vertical coupling of the two microcavities, as well as the changes in the radius and refractive index of the micro-toroid, and the distance between the microcavities caused by the absorption of vapor during the gas sensing process, exhibit different wavelength shifts for the two resonant modes. Smart microcavity sensors exhibit sensitivity and sensing characteristics. .

Fabrication and gas sensing property of honeycomb-like ZnO

We report the structural characterization and proposed formation mechanism of honeycomb-like ZnO conglomerations fabricated by direct precipitation method. X-ray diffraction （XRD）, energy-disperse X-ray spectrometry （EDS）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） showed that the as-prepared ZnO calcined at 700 ℃ were micron sphere particles with honeycomb-like structure. In the UV-vis absorbing spectrum, it was observed that there is a new additional absorption band at 260 nm, and it was speculated that the absorption may be caused by defects on the surface and interface of honeycomb-like ZnO. The as-products showed high sensitivity and short response time to sulfured hydrogen gas. These results demonstrate that honeycomb-like ZnO conglomerations are very promising materials for fabricating H2S gas sensors.

Nanogenerators for Self-Powered Gas Sensing

Looking toward world technology trends over the next few decades, self-powered sensing networks are a key field of technological and economic driver for global industries. Since 2006, Zhong Lin Wang's group has proposed a novel concept of nanogenerators(NGs), including piezoelectric nanogenerator and triboelectric nanogenerator, which could convert a mechanical trigger into an electric output. Considering motion ubiquitously exists in the surrounding environment and for any most common materials used every day, NGs could be inherently served as an energy source for our daily increasing requirements or as one of self-powered environmental sensors. In this regard, by coupling the piezoelectric or triboelectric properties with semiconducting gas sensing characterization, a new research field of self-powered gas sensing has been proposed. Recent works have shown promising concept to realize NG-based self-powered gas sensors that are capable of detecting gas environment without the need of external power sources to activate the gas sensors or to actively generate a readout signal. Compared with conventional sensors, these self-powered gas sensors keep the approximate performance.Meanwhile, these sensors drastically reduce power consumption and additionally reduce the required space for integration,which are significantly suitable for the wearable devices. This paper gives a brief summary about the establishment and latest progress in the fundamental principle, updated progress and potential applications of NG-based self-powered gas sensing system. The development trend in this field is envisaged, and the basic configurations are also introduced.

Room temperature NO_2 gas sensing of Au-loaded tungsten oxide nanowires/porous silicon hybrid structure

In this work, we report an enhanced nitrogen dioxide（NO_2） gas sensor based on tungsten oxide（WO_3）nanowires/porous silicon（PS） decorated with gold（Au） nanoparticles. Au-loaded WO_3 nanowires with diameters of 10 nm–25 nm and lengths of 300 nm–500 nm are fabricated by the sputtering method on a porous silicon substrate. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM） micrographs show that Au nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the surfaces of WO_3 nanowires. The effect of the Au nanoparticles on the NO_2-sensing performance of WO_3 nanowires/porous silicon is investigated over a low concentration range of 0.2 ppm–5 ppm of NO_2 at room temperature（25℃）. It is found that the 10-？ Au-loaded WO_3 nanowires/porous silicon-based sensor possesses the highest gas response characteristic. The underlying mechanism of the enhanced sensing properties of the Au-loaded WO_3 nanowires/porous silicon is also discussed.

Preparation of polythiophene/WO_3 organic-inorganic hybrids and their gas sensing properties for NO_2 detection at low temperature

Polythiophene/WO3（PTP/WO3）organic-inorganic hybrids were synthesized by an in situ chemical oxidative polymerization method,and char- acterized by X-ray diffraction（XRD）,transmission electron microscopy（TEM）and thermo-gravimetric analysis（TGA）.The Polythiophene/ WO3 hybrids have higher thermal stability than pure polythiophene,which is beneficial to potential application as chemical sensors.Gas sensing measurements demonstrate that the gas sensor based on the Polythiophene/WO3 hybrids has high response and good selectivity for de- tecting NO2 of ppm level at low temperature.Both the operating temperature and PTP contents have an influence on the response of PTP/WO3 hybrids to NO2.The 10 wt%PTP/WO3 hybrid showed the highest response at low operating temperature of 70-C.It is expected that the PTP/WO3 hybrids can be potentially used as gas sensor material for detecting the low concentration of NO2 at low temperature.

Optimization of Gas Sensing Performance of Nanocrystalline SnO_2 Thin Films Synthesized by Magnetron Sputtering

Tin oxide （SnO2） is one of the most promising transparent conducting oxide materials, which is widely used in thin film gas sensors. We investigate the dependence of the deposition time on structural, morphologicaJ and hydrogen gas sensing properties of SnO2 thin films synthesized by dc magnetron sputtering. The deposited samples are characterized by XRD, SEM, AFM, surface area measurements and surface profiler. Also the H2 gas sensing properties of SnO2 deposited samples are performed against a wide range of operating temperature. The XRD analysis demonstrates that the degree of crystallinity of the deposited SnO2 films strongly depends on the deposition time. SEM and AFM analyses reveal that the size of nanoparticles or agglomerates, and both average and rms surface roughness is enhanced with the increasing deposition time. Also gas sensors based on these SnO2 nanolayers show an acceptable response to hydrogen at various operating temperatures.

Absorption Line Profile Recovery Based on TDLS and MEMS Micro-Mirror for Photoacoustic Gas Sensing

A novel and efficient absorption line recovery technique is presented.A micro-electromechanical systems(MEMS) mirror driven by an electrothermal actuator is used to generate laser intensity modulation through the mirror reflection.Tunable diode laser spectroscopy(TDLS) and photoacoustic spectroscopy(PAS) are used to recover the target absorption line profile which is compared with the theoretical Voigt profile.The target gas is 0.01% acetylene(C2H2) in a nitrogen host gas.The laser diode wavelength is swept across the P17 absorption line of acetylene at 1 535.4 nm by a current ramp,and an erbium-doped fibre amplifier(EDFA) is used to enhance the optical intensity and increase the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR).A SNR of about 35 is obtained with 100 mW laser power from the EDFA.Good agreement is achieved between the experimental results and the theoretical simulation for the P17 absorption line profile.

Synthesis and room-temperature NO_2 gas sensing properties of a WO_3 nanowires/porous silicon hybrid structure

We report on the fabrication and performance of a room-temperature NO2 gas sensor based on a WO3 nanowires/porous silicon hybrid structure. The W18O49 nanowires are synthesized directly from a sputtered tungsten film on a porous silicon （PS） layer under heating in an argon atmosphere. After a carefully controlled annealing treatment, WO3 nanowires are obtained on the PS layer without losing the morphology. The morphology, phase structure, and crystallinity of the nanowires are investigated by using field emission scanning electron microscopy （FESEM）, X-ray diffractometer （XRD）, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy （HRTEM）. Comparative gas sensing results indicate that the sensor based on the WO3 nanowires exhibits a much higher sensitivity than that based on the PS and pure WO3 nanowires in detecting NO2 gas at room temperature. The mechanism of the WO3 nanowires/PS hybrid structure in the NO2 sensing is explained in detail.

Synthesis of Tin Oxide Through Thermal Decomposition of Sn_2(NH_4)_2(C_2O_4)_3 and Its Gas Sensing Property

Nanocrystalline tin oxide samples were prepared by using Sn2 （NH4 ）2 （C2O4）3 as the precursor. The thermal decompositions were respectively conducted at 250,450 and 650 ℃. TG-DTA, XRD, TEM, FTIR were used to characterize the samples. The indirect heating sensors by using these materials as sensitive bodies were fabricated on an alumina tube with Au electrodes and platinum wires. Sensing properties of these sensors were investigated. It was found that the tin oxide sample obtained by thermal decomposition at 450 ℃ has a higher sensitivity to C2H5OH and a higher selectivity to hexane and ammonia than those obtained via the conventional precipitate method and the working temperatures needed were greatly decreased.

Gas sensing performance of polyaniline/ZnO organic-inorganic hybrids for detecting VOCs at low temperature

Polyaniline （PANI） was prepared by the chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline, and ZnO, with the mean particle size of 28 nm, was synthesized by a non-aqueous solvent method. The organic-inorganic PANI/ZnO hybrids with different mass fractions of PANI were obtained by mechanically mixing the prepared PANI and ZnO. The gas sensing properties of PANI/ZnO hybrids to different volatile organic compounds （VOCs） including methanol, ethanol and acetone were investigated at a low operating temperature of 90°C. Compared with the pure PANI and ZnO, the PANI/ZnO hybrids presented much higher response to VOCs. Meanwhile, the PANI/ZnO hybrid exhibited a good reversibility and a short response-recovery time, implying its potential application for gas sensors. The sensing mechanism was suggested to be related to the existence of p-n heterojunctions in the PANI/ZnO hybrids.

INFLUENCE OF Pr_6O_(11) ON THE GAS SENSING CHARACTERISTICS OF SnO_2 SEMICONDUCTOR

This paper is to discuss the sensing characteristics of SnO_2 semiconductor components in which Pr_6O_(11) is added.When experimenting under 11 gases of CH_3COCH_3,C_2H_5OH.C_6H_5CH_3,H_2,NH_3,CO, CO_2 CH_4,C_4H_10,n—C_6H_(14)and n—C_7H_(16),we find that the components have selectivity to CH_3COCH_3, C_2H_5OH and that the ideal amount of Pr_6O_(11) in the components is about I.Owt%.The experiments also show that with the increase of the amount of Pr_6O_(11),the ideal working temperature,the response and restoration time decrease.

Protein Based Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Gas Sensing

We apply the localized surface plasrnon resonance （LSPR） of gold nanoparticles （GNPs） covalently coupled with cytochrorne c （cyt c） to create a nanobiosensor for detecting hydrogen sulfide （H2S） in the range of 15 lOOppb. Monolayer formation of GNPs on glass surface functionalized with 3-aminopropyltrirnethoxysilane （APTMS） is performed for fabricating a chip-based format of the optical transducer. By chemical introduction of short-chain thiol derivatives on cyt c protein shell via its lysine residues, a very fast self-assembled rnonolayer （SAM） of cyt c is formed on the GNPs. Significant shifts in the LSPR peak （△λLSPR） are observed by reacting H2S with cyt c. Results show a linear relationship between △λLSPR and H2S concentration. Furthermore, shifts in the LSPR peak are reversible and the peak positions return to their pre-exposure values once the H2S is removed. The experirnental results strongly indicate that the protein based LSPR chip can be successfully used as a simple, fast, sensitive and quantitative sensor for H2S detection.

Asymmetric side-chain engineering of organic semiconductor for ultrasensitive gas sensing

Molecular structure of organic semiconductor plays a critical role in determining the performance and functionality of organic electronic devices,by optimizing the electrical,optical and physicochemical properties.Substituted alkyl chains are fundamental units in tailering the solubility and assemblability,among which the asymmetric properties have been reported as key element for controlling the packing motifs and intrinsic charge transport.Here,we expanded the scope of molecular asymmetry dependent sensing features based on a new series of naphthalene diimides(NDI)-based derivatives substituted with a same branching alkyl chain but various linear-shaped alkyl chains(Cn-).A clear molecular stacking change,from head-to-head bilayer to head-to-tail monolayer packing model,is observed based on the features of anisotropic molecular interactions with the change in the chain length.Most importantly,a unique LUMO level shift of 0.17 eV is validated for NDI-PhC4,providing a record sensitivity up to 150%to 0.01 ppb ammonia,due to the desired molecular reactivity and device amplification properties.These results indicate that asymmetric side-chain engineering opens a route for breath healthcare.

Advances in multipass cell for absorption spectroscopy-based trace gas sensing technology[Invited]

In the field of absorption spectroscopy,the multipass cell[MPC]is one of the key elements.It has the advantages of simple structure,easy adjustment,and high spectral coverage,which is an effective way to improve the detection sensitivity of gas sensing systems such as tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy.This invited paper summarizes the design theory and the research results of some mainstream types of MPCs based on two mirrors and more than two mirrors in recent years,and briefly introduces the application of some processed products.The design theory of modified ABCD matrix and vector reflection principle are explained in detail.Finally,trends in its development are predicted.

Enhanced room temperature gas sensing performance of ZnO with atomic-level Pt catalysts facilitated by the polydopamine mediator

The poor sensitivity of metal-oxide(MO)sensing material at room temperature can be enhanced by the modi-fication of noble metal catalysts.However,the large size and uncontrollable morphology of metal nanoparticles(NPs)compromise the catalytic activity and selectivity.Downsizing metal NPs to the atomic level is a promising solution because it offers high activity and selectivity.Nevertheless,a facile and universal approach for stable loading atomic-level metal on MO-based sensing materials is still challenging.Herein,we present a strategy to construct synergetic coordination interface for uniform loading of atomic-level metal catalysts on MO-based gas-sensing materials using a difunctional mediator layer.In this work,atomically dispersed Pt catalysts are coor-dinately anchored on ZnO nanorods(NRs)using polydopamine(PDA)as a mediator.As a result,compared with pristine ZnO NRs,a six-fold enhanced response of 18,489%is achieved toward 100 ppm NO_(2)on 0.20 wt%Pt-ZnO@PDA-1.5 nm,and the selectivity is also promoted.Such sensitivity is higher than that of most reported noble metal-modified MO NO_(2)-sensing materials.This work provides a simple and general strategy for building highly sensitive and selective gas-sensing materials using atomic-level noble metal catalyst.

Optimization Study on Graphene-Coated Microfiber Bragg Grating Structures for Ammonia Gas Sensing

The excitation of the surface field and evanescent enhancement in the graphene have shown sensitive to the refractive index of surrounding media and potential applications in high-sensitivity biochemical sensing. In this paper, we investigate the graphene-coated microfiber Bragg gratings （GMFBGs） with different diameters for ammonia gas sensing. The maximum sensitivity with 6pm/ppm was achieved experimentally when the microfiber＇s diameter was about 10 μm. Moreover, by adjusting the diameter of the GMFBG, the sensing performance of the GMFBGs could be optimized. Experimental results indicated that GMFBGs with the diameter of 8μm - 12μm would show the characteristics of the high sensitivity, relative low attenuation, and large dynamic range.

The gas sensing properties of TiO_2 nanotubes synthesized by hydrothermal method

In this paper,the TiO_2 nanotubes were synthesized by hydrothermal method using a 10 mol/L NaOH aqueous solution at 150℃. The structure of prepared materials was characterized by X-ray diffraction（XRD）,transmission electron microscopy（TEM）. scanning electron microscope（SEM） and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller（BET）.The prepared TiO_2 nanotubes were used to prepare thick film gas sensors and the gas sensing properties to various gases were tested.Results show the prepared TiO_2 nanotube gas sensors responses to ethanol under dry condition at 450℃.This could be attributed to the fact that it had high porous morphology and a higher pore volume,which can promote the diffusion of ethanol deep inside the films and improve the sensor response. Moreover,the gas sensor made with nanotubes exhibit high selective response towards ethanol gas compared with H_2,CO,acetone.

Controllable synthesis of highly crystallized mesoporous TiO2/WO3 heterojunctions for acetone gas sensing

Mesoporous semiconducting metal oxides(SMOs)heterojunctions are appealing sensors for gas detecting.However,due to the different hydrolysis and condensation mechanism of every metal precursor and the contradiction between high crystallinity and high surface area,the synthesis of mesoporous SMOs heterojunctions with highly o rdered mesostructures,highly crystallized frameworks,and high surface area remains a huge challenge.In this work,we develop a novel"acid-base pair"adjusted solvent evaporation induced self-assembly(EISA)strategy to prepare highly crystallized ordered mesoporous TiO2/WO3(OM-TiO2/WO3)heterojunctions.The WCl6 and titanium isopropoxide(TIPO)are used as the precursors,respectively,which function as the"acid-base pair",enabling the coassembly with the structure directing agent(PEO-b-PS)into highly ordered meso structures.In addition,PEO-b-PS can be converted to rigid carbon which can protect the meso structures from collapse during the crystallization process.The resultant OM-TiO2/WO3 heterojunctions possess primitive cubic mesostructures,large pore size(~21.1 nm),highly crystalline frameworks and surface area(~98 m2/g).As a sensor for acetone,the obtained OM-TiO2/WO3 show excellent re sponse/recovery perfo rmance(3 s/5 s),good linear dependence,repeatability,selectivity,and long-term stability(35 days).