Rational construction and triethylamine sensing performance of foam shaped α-MoO3@SnS2 nanosheets

Abstract Owing to their high surface area, stable structure and easy fabrication, composite nanomaterials with encapsulation structures have attracted considerable research interest as sensing materials to detect volatile organic compounds. Herein, a hydrothermal route is designed to prepare foam shaped α-MoO3@SnS2 nanosheets that exhibit excellent sensing performance for triethylamine (TEA). The developed sensor, based on α-MoO3@SnS2 nanosheets, displays a high response of 114.9 for 100 ppm TEA at a low working temperature of 175 °C with sensitivity higher than many other reported sensors. In addition, the device shows a wide concentration detection range (from 500 ppb to 500 ppm), good stability after exposure to air for 80 days, and excellent selectivity. The superior sensing characteristics of the developed sensor are attributed to the high crystallinity of α-MoO3/SnS2, excessive and accessible active sites provided by the good permeability of porous SnS2 shells, and the excellent conductivity of the encapsulation heterojunction structure. Thus, the foam shaped α-MoO3@SnS2 nanosheets presented herein have promising practical applications in TEA gas sensing devices.