Enhanced ammonia sensing performance based on MXene-Ti3C2Tx multilayer nanoflakes functionalized by tungsten trioxide nanoparticles

Abstract

Low-power consumption and high sensitivity are highly desirable for a vast range of NH3 sensing applications. As a new type of two-dimension (2D) material, Ti3C2Tx is extensively studied for room temperature NH3 sensors recently. However, the Ti3C2Tx MXene based gas sensors suffer mainly from low sensitivity. Herein, we report a sensitive Ti3C2Tx/WO3 composite resistive sensor for NH3 detection. The Ti3C2Tx/WO3 composite consisting of WO3 nanoparticles anchored on Ti3C2Tx nanoflakes were synthesized successfully with a facile ultra-sonication technique. The composite sensor with optimized components exhibits a high sensitivity of 22.3% for 1 ppm NH3 at room temperature, which is 15.4 times higher than the pure Ti3C2Tx sensor. Furthermore, the composite sensor has excellent reproducibility, good long-term stability, and high selectivity to NH3. The relative humidity influence on NH3 gas sensing properties of the sensors was systematically studied. This research provides an efficient route for the preparation of novel MXene-based sensitive materials for high-performance NH3 sensors.