Interface engineering of 2D/2D MoS2/In2S3 heterostructure for highly sensitive NO2 detection at room temperature gas sensor

• Published in: Journal of environmental chemical engineering 2024-08, Vol.12 (4), p.113023, Article 113023
• Main Authors: Malathi, B., Parveen, R. Aysha, Bharathi, P., Nakamura, A., Archana, J., Navaneethan, M., Harish, S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 2D/2D heterostructure; Highly sensitive; MoS2/In2S3; Nanosheets (NSs); NO2 sensor; Room temperature (RT)
• ISSN: 2213-3437
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2024.113023

Rapid industrial growth and technological advancements in recent decades have led to an urbanized society at the expense of the environment due to toxic gas emissions. Therefore, it is imperative to detect trace concentrations of harmful gas with reliable techniques. NO2 is essentially being targeted for detection among all other gases due to its enormous abundance and serious health risks. Recently, 2D-MoS2 with enormous adsorption sites and high chemical reactivity have been employed selectively to detect NO2 at room temperature (RT). Herein, uniform and high surface area MoS2/In2S3 nanosheets (NSs) heterostructures were synthesized by hydrothermal method. HR-TEM analysis confirmed the 2D/2D heterostructures of MoS2/In2S3 nanosheets (NSs), and the increase in surface area of MoS2 from 10 m2/g to 27.2 m2/g upon addition of In2S3, measured through BET analysis. The MoS2/In2S3 sensor demonstrated excellent sensing capability with a response of 185% towards 50 ppm of NO2 at RT (30 ℃). Additionally, the sensor exhibited stable detection for about 42 days, repeatability over 5 cycles, and a detection limit of 450 ppb towards NO2. The synergistic influence of 2D/2D heterostructure with significant active sites and surface area is responsible for the considerable improvement in sensing performance. Therefore, the MoS2/In2S3 nanocomposites demonstrate a facile approach for developing high-performance potentially hazardous gas detectors for RT applications. [Display omitted] •MoS2/In2S3 composites were prepared via facile hydrothermal method.•MIS-1 exhibits a response of 185% towards 50 ppm of NO2 at RT.•Good stability (42 days)and limit of detection (35 ppm) shows its excellent gas sensing performance.•The novelty of this work is MoS2/In2S3 composite for room temperature NO2 detection.