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.

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.

Preparation of porous α-Fe_2O_3-supported Pt and its sensing performance to volatile organic compounds

Porous α-Fe2O3 was synthesized by a simple hydrothermal treatment of FeC13 aqueous solution followed by a calcination process. In the synthesis of porous α-Fe2O3, no templates or pore-directing agents were used. The as-prepared porous α-Fe2O3 was further employed as a support for loading Pt nanoparticles. The gas sensing performance of the obtained porous α-Fe2O3-supported Pt to VOCs was investigated. The sensor presented a high response and fast response-recovery characteristic to several VOCs including acetone, ether, methanol, ethanol, butanol and hexanol. Meanwhile, it exhibited a much higher response than the pure α-Fe2O3 at the operating temperature of 260 ℃. The enhanced sensing properties may be related to the unique porous structure of the α-Fe2O3 support and the promoting effect of active Pt nanoparticles for the sensing reactions.

Optimization of microstructure design for enhanced sensing performance in flexible piezoresistive sensors

Flexible piezoresistive strain sensors have received significant attention due to their diverse applications in monitoring human activities and health,as well as in robotics,prosthetics,and human–computer interaction interfaces.Among the various flexible sensor types,those with microstructure designs are considered promising for strain sensing due to their simple structure,high sensitivity,extensive operational range,rapid response time,and robust stability.This review provides a concise overview of recent advancements in flexible piezoresistive sensors based on microstructure design for enhanced strain sensing performance,including the impact of microstructure on sensing mechanisms,classification of microstructure designs,fabrication methods,and practical applications.Initially,this review delves into the analysis of piezoresistive sensor sensing mechanisms and performance parameters,exploring the relationship between microstructure design and performance enhancement.Subsequently,an in-depth discussion is presented,focusing on the primary themes of microstructure design classification,process selection,performance characteristics,and specific applications.This review employs mathematical modeling and hierarchical analysis to emphasize the directionality of different microstructures on performance enhancement and to highlight the performance advantages and applicable features of various microstructure types.In conclusion,this review examines the multifunctionality of flexible piezoresistive sensors based on microstructure design and addresses the challenges that still need to be overcome and improved,such as achieving a wide range of stretchability,high sensitivity,and robust stability.This review summarizes the research directions for enhancing sensing performance through microstructure design,aiming to assist in the advancement of flexible piezoresistive sensors.

Rational construction and triethylamine sensing performance of foam shapedα-MoO_(3)@SnS_(2) nanosheets

Owing to their high surface area,stable structure and easy fabrication,composite nanomaterials with encapsulation structures have attracted considerable research interest as sensing materials to detect volatile organic compounds.Herein,a hydrothermal route is designed to prepare foam shapedα-MoO_(3)@SnS_(2)nanosheets that exhibit excellent sensing performance for triethylamine(TEA).The developed sensor,based onα-MoO_(3)@SnS_(2)nanosheets,displays a high response of 114.9 for 100 ppm TEA at a low working temperature of 175℃with sensitivity higher than many other reported sensors.In addition,the device shows a wide concentration detection range(from 500 ppb to 500 ppm),good stability after exposure to air for 80 days,and excellent selectivity.The superior sensing characteristics of the developed sensor are attributed to the high crystallinity ofα-MoO_(3)/SnS_(2),excessive and accessible active sites provided by the good permeability of porous SnS_(2)shells,and the excellent conductivity of the encapsulation heterojunction structure.Thus,the foam shapedα-MoO_(3)@SnS_(2)nanosheets presented herein have promising practical applications in TEA gas sensing devices.

Multi-functional photonic spin Hall effect sensor controlled by phase transition

Photonic spin Hall effect(PSHE), as a novel physical effect in light–matter interaction, provides an effective metrological method for characterizing the tiny variation in refractive index(RI). In this work, we propose a multi-functional PSHE sensor based on VO_(2), a material that can reveal the phase transition behavior. By applying thermal control, the mutual transformation into different phase states of VO_(2) can be realized, which contributes to the flexible switching between multiple RI sensing tasks. When VO_(2) is insulating, the ultrasensitive detection of glucose concentrations in human blood is achieved. When VO_(2) is in a mixed phase, the structure can be designed to distinguish between the normal cells and cancer cells through no-label and real-time monitoring. When VO_(2) is metallic, the proposed PSHE sensor can act as an RI indicator for gas analytes. Compared with other multi-functional sensing devices with the complex structures, our design consists of only one analyte and two VO_(2) layers, which is very simple and elegant. Therefore, the proposed VO_(2)-based PSHE sensor has outstanding advantages such as small size, high sensitivity, no-label, and real-time detection, providing a new approach for investigating tunable multi-functional sensors.

Morphological Engineering of Sensing Materials for Flexible Pressure Sensors and Artificial Intelligence Applications

As an indispensable branch of wearable electronics,flexible pressure sensors are gaining tremendous attention due to their extensive applications in health monitoring,human-machine interaction,artificial intelligence,the internet of things,and other fields.In recent years,highly flexible and wearable pressure sensors have been developed using various materials/structures and transduction mechanisms.Morphological engineering of sensing materials at the nanometer and micrometer scales is crucial to obtaining superior sensor performance.This review focuses on the rapid development of morphological engineering technologies for flexible pressure sensors.We discuss different architectures and morphological designs of sensing materials to achieve high performance,including high sensitivity,broad working range,stable sensing,low hysteresis,high transparency,and directional or selective sensing.Additionally,the general fabrication techniques are summarized,including self-assembly,patterning,and auxiliary synthesis methods.Furthermore,we present the emerging applications of high-performing microengineered pressure sensors in healthcare,smart homes,digital sports,security monitoring,and machine learning-enabled computational sensing platform.Finally,the potential challenges and prospects for the future developments of pressure sensors are discussed comprehensively.

Wearable and stretchable conductive polymer composites for strain sensors:How to design a superior one?

Wearable and stretchable strain sensors have potential values in the fields of human motion and health monitoring,flexible electronics,and soft robotic skin.The wearable and stretchable strain sensors can be directly attached to human skin,providing visualized detection for human motions and personal healthcare.Conductive polymer composites(CPC)composed of conductive fillers and flexible polymers have the advantages of high stretchability,good flexibility,superior durability,which can be used to prepare flexible strain sensors with large working strain and outstanding sensitivity.This review has put forward a comprehensive summary on the fabrication methods,advanced mechanisms and strain sensing abilities of CPC strain sensors reported in recent years,especially the sensors with superior performance.Finally,the structural design,bionic function,integration technology and further application of CPC strain sensors are prospected.

A performance enhanced Rayleigh Brillouin optical time domain analysis sensing system

Aiming at the problem of large fading noise in Rayleigh Brillouin optical time domain analysis system, a wavelength scanning technique is proposed to enhance the performance of the temperature sensing system. The principle of the proposed technique to reduce the fading noise is introduced based on the analysis of Rayleigh Brillouin optical time domain analysis system. The experimental results show that the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) at the end of optical fiber with length of 50 m after 17 times wavelength scanning is 5.21 d B higher than that with single wavelength, the Brillouin frequency shift(BFS) on the heated fiber with length of 70 m inserted at the center of sensing fiber can be accurately measured as 0.19 MHz, which is equivalent to a measurement accuracy of 0.19 °C. It indicates that the proposed technique can realize high-accuracy temperature measurement and has huge potential in the field of long-distance and high-accuracy sensing.

Gas sensors based on metal-organic frameworks:Challenges and opportunities

The need for high-performance and cost-effective gas sensors in industrial and domestic settings has led to ad-vancements in gas sensors based on metal-organic frameworks(MOFs).However,challenges remain in the design and synthesis of MOFs with customized structure and affinity toward targeted gases and their integration onto miniaturized electronic devices.The deliberate design of MOFs with desired characteristics is hindered by limited understanding of the interactions between MOFs and analytes.Furthermore,there is a lack of customization of relevant MOF-based sensors with salient sensing performance and their integration into sensor arrays to align with different application scenarios.The combination of machine learning or artificial intelligence(AI)with gas sensors also represents a promising avenue for future research.Herein,we provide a mini-review of recent ac-complishments in MOF-based gas sensors,covering materials design and device integration.The challenges of miniaturization and building smart sensing systems with anomaly detection,self-calibration,and lifetime pre-diction are also discussed.

Mace-like TTF-TCNQ/HKUST-1 composite structures for rapid NO_(2) detection: Synergistically induced ultrahigh sensitivity and outstanding selectivity

Integration and synergy of the unique functions of different components have been developed into one of the most convenient and effective ways to construct the composite advanced materials with collective properties and improved performances.In this work,the mace-like tetrathiafulvalene-tetracyanoquinodimethane(TTF-TCNQ)/HKUST-1 composite structures with single single-crystalline TTF-TCNQ submicrorods covered by ordered HKUST-1 nanosheet arrays were successfully constructed by an efficient TTF-TCNQ seed-mediated growth approach.Impressively,thanks to the synergetic and complementary effects between TTF-TCNQ and HKUST-1,the sensors based on such mace-like TTF-TCNQ/HKUST-1 composite structures not only displayed an experimental detection limit of 10 part per billion(ppb)for NO_(2) detection,but also exhibited outstanding selectivity even if the concentration of the interfering gases was 10 times that of NO_(2).Meanwhile,good reproducibility and rapid response were also achieved.This work opens the avenue for creation of novel high-performance sensing materials for application in gas sensing.

Graphene oxide-silver/cotton fiber fabric with anti-bacterial and anti-UV properties for wearable gas sensors

Wearable gas sensors can improve early warning provision for workers in special worksites and can also be used as flexible electronic platforms.Here,the flexible multifunctional gas sensor was prepared by grafting graphene oxide(GO)-Ag onto cotton fabric after swelling.The maximum bacterial inhibition rate of GO-150/cotton fabric was 95.6%for E.coli and 87.6%for S.aureus,while retaining the original high moisture permeability of cotton fabric.So GO/cotton fabric can resist the multiplication of bacteria.At the same time,GO can greatly improve the UV protection performance of cotton fabric used in garments.With increase of the GO concentration,the UV protection ability of composite fabric is enhanced.Finally,GO-Ag/cotton fabric sensors had stable NH3 gassensitive properties and good washing stability.In conclusion,these cotton fabric sensors with antibacterial properties,UV resistance and highly sensitive gas-sensitive properties have potential applications in wearable early warning devices and textile products.