Nanohybrids of a MXene and transition metal dichalcogenide for selective detection of volatile organic compounds.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32157089.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-15092-4 and PMC identifier 7064528.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Two-dimensional transition metal carbides/nitrides, known as MXenes, have been recently receiving attention for gas sensing. However, studies on hybridization of MXenes and 2D transition metal dichalcogenides as gas-sensing materials are relatively rare at this time. Herein, Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub>x</sub> and WSe<sub>2</sub> are selected as model materials for hybridization and implemented toward detection of various volatile organic compounds. The Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub>x</sub>/WSe<sub>2</sub> hybrid sensor exhibits low noise level, ultrafast response/recovery times, and good flexibility for various volatile organic compounds. The sensitivity of the hybrid sensor to ethanol is improved by over 12-fold in comparison with pristine Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub>x</sub>. Moreover, the hybridization process provides an effective strategy against MXene oxidation by restricting the interaction of water molecules from the edges of Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub>x</sub>. An enhancement mechanism for Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub>x</sub>/WSe<sub>2</sub> heterostructured materials is proposed for highly sensitive and selective detection of oxygen-containing volatile organic compounds. The scientific findings of this work could guide future exploration of next-generation field-deployable sensors.