Pd-doped SnP3 monolayer: A new 2D buddy for sensing typical dissolved gases in transformer oil

Abstract

Dissolved gas analysis (DGA) is a workable and simple manner to evaluate the operation status of a transformer. In this paper, we investigated the adsorption performance of Pd-doped SnP3 (Pd-SnP3) monolayer upon three typical dissolved gases, including H2, CH4 and C2H2, using first-principles theory. The electronic behavior, dielectric function and work function were all considered to explore its potential as a chemical gas sensor for sensing application. Results indicated that Pd-doping is kind of n-doping for the pristine SnP3 surface and significantly enhances its adsorption performance upon three gases. Pd-SnP3 monolayer behaves physisorption upon H2 and CH4 with adsorption energy (Ead) of −0.64 and −0.65 eV, respectively, but chemisorption upon C2H2 with Ead of −1.21 eV. For sensing application, we found that Pd-SnP3 monolayer is a promising candidate as a resistance-type, optical or field electron transistor gas sensor to sensitively detect H2 and C2H2, and the electrical response for resistance-type sensor would be 93.87% and 314.29%, respectively. Our calculations aim to propose novel 2D buddy for DGA application, which is meaningful to realize the status-monitoring of the transformers and extend the exploration of SnP3-based material in many fields.