CO and CO2 adsorption performance of transition metal-functionalized germanene

Abstract In this work, the pristine and transition metal (TM)-functionalized germanene are investigated for sensing applications. Firstly, the detection of CO and CO2 molecules by pristine germanene is considered, and the numerical results show that adsorption energy values are in the physisorption range. Then, the adsorption of CO and CO2 molecules on Cu-, Ag-, and Au-functionalized germanene is studied. Results show that germanene functionalization with TM atoms considerably improves the interaction towards CO molecule when bound through the C atom [CO(C)], in the chemisorption range. On the other hand, numerical results show that the germanene sensing capabilities for the CO(O) and CO2 molecules do not improve with TM, these were adsorbed in the physisorption interval. Results suggest that the TM-functionalized germanene can have potential uses in CO sensing.