Enhanced Gas Sensing Performance of rGO Wrapped Crystal Facet-Controlled Co3O4 Nanocomposite Heterostructures

Abstract

Crystal facet engineering and graphene modification are both effective means to improve the gas sensing performance of metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs) currently. However, research on the crystal facet effect and synergistic effect of graphene modification of p-type MOS sensors is relatively lacking. Here, p-type Co3O4 nanocrystals with controlled crystal facets ({112} and {100}) were in situ wrapped in the two-dimensional (2D) nanosheet network of graphene. It was found that bare {112} facets showed a significantly higher triethylamine sensing performance than {100} facets, implying a strong crystal facet effect. Interestingly, the triethylamine sensing performance of {112} facets was significantly improved after rGO modification, while the performance improvement of Co3O4 {100} was limited after rGO modification. Further study suggested that {112} facets contained more active Co3+ species and chemically adsorbed oxygen species than {100} facets, which promoted the adsorption of triethylamine and the subsequent sensing reaction. In addition, the strong electronic interaction between Co3O4 {112} crystal facets and rGO promoted efficient charge exchange through the heterogeneous interface. This work provides a new way to improve the gas sensing performance of Co3O4 through the synergistic effect of crystal facet engineering and graphene modification.