Ultrasensitive Organic-Inorganic Nanotube Thin Films of Halogenated Perovskites as Room Temperature Ammonia Sensors

Abstract Recently organic-inorganic halide perovskites like MAPbX3 (X=Br, Cl, I), are being investigated as a substitute to commonly used metal oxide semiconductor-based sensors for the detection of various volatile organic compounds and toxic gases at room temperature. The present work provides detailed insights into chlorine halide incorporation on the ammonia sensing performance of the most popular MAPbI3 (MAPI) perovskite thin films. Here, we shown that the MAPbI3-xClx (MAPIC) sensor exhibits a high response of 591%, nearly13 times larger than the reported MAPI sensor for 10 ppm of ammonia exposure at room temperature. This work demonstrates excellent potential of MAPIC as an ultra-sensitive, stable and reversible NH3 sensor vis-a-vis MAPI sensor for early detection of NH3. The proposed sensing mechanism suggests that by engineering the morphology at the nanoscale and doping indiced excellent charge carrier diffusion length could enhance ammonia sensor responsivity.