High-performance humidity sensors based on SnO2/Ti3C2Tx nanocomposites coated on porous graphene electrodes

Abstract

This study proposes the synthesis of SnO2/Ti3C2Tx composites on porous graphene electrodes (PGEs) for high-performance humidity sensors. In the heterojunction structure of SnO2/Ti3C2Tx composites, SnO2 nanoparticles prevented the layered structure of Ti3C2Tx to collapse and restack. Moreover, the high specific surface area of the SnO2/Ti3C2Tx composites provided more adsorption sites that improved their response. Porous graphene was fabricated by a fiber laser-induced process on the polyimide film as an electrode layer for flexible humidity sensors. The characteristics of the SnO2/Ti3C2Tx composites and PGEs were examined and investigated. SnO2/Ti3C2Tx composites were drop-cast on PGEs to fabricate the humidity sensor. Furthermore, the response of humidity sensors was tested in various RHs. The performance of the proposed humidity sensor demonstrated a wide detection range of 11 - 97% RH, low hysteresis of 2.8% RH, low response/recovery times of 14/49 s, high sensitivity of 862.19 kΩ/%RH, excellent long-time stability and repeatability, and good flexibility. In the future, the proposed sensor can be widely applied in human respiration monitoring, non-contact switch, and detection of volatile organic compounds.