Ultrasensitive ppb-level trimethylamine gas sensor based on p–n heterojunction of Co3O4/WO3

Abstract

Trace poisonous and harmful gases in the air have been harming and affecting people’s health for a long time. At present, effective and accurate detection of ppb-level harmful gas is still a bottleneck to be overcome. Herein, we report a ppb-level triethylamine (TEA) gas sensor based on p–n heterojunction of Co3O4/WO3, which is prepared with ZIF-67 as the precursor and provides Co3O4 deposited tungsten oxide flower-like structure. Due to the introduction of Co3O4 and the 3D flower-like structure of WO3, the Co3O4/WO3-2 gas sensor shows excellent gas sensing performance (1101 for 10 ppm at 240 °C), superb selectivity, good long-term stability and linear response for TEA concentration. Moreover, the experimental results indicate that the Co3O4/WO3-2 gas sensor also possesses a good response to 50 ppb TEA, in fact, the theoretical limit of detection is 0.6 ppb. Co3O4 not only improves the efficiency of electron separation/transport, but also accelerates the oxidation rate of TEA. This method of synthesizing p–n heterojunction with ZIF as the precursor provides a new idea and method for the preparation of low detection limit gas sensors.