Stabilizing MoS2 Nanosheets through SnO2 Nanocrystal Decoration for High-Performance Gas Sensing in Air

The unique properties of MoS(2) nanosheets make them a promising candidate for high-performance room temperature sensing. However, the properties of pristine MoS(2) nanosheets are strongly influenced by the significant adsorption of oxygen in an air environment, which leads to instability of the MoS(2) sensing device, and all sensing results on MoS(2) reported to date were exclusively obtained in an inert atmosphere. This significantly limits the practical sensor application of MoS(2) in an air environment. Herein, a novel nanohybrid of SnO(2) nanocrystal (NC)-decorated crumpled MoS(2) nanosheet (MoS(2)/SnO(2)) and its exciting air-stable property for room temperature sensing of NO(2) are reported. Interestingly, the SnO(2) NCs serve as strong p-type dopants for MoS(2), leading to p-type channels in the MoS(2) nanosheets. The SnO(2) NCs also significantly enhance the stability of MoS(2) nanosheets in dry air. As a result, unlike other MoS(2) sensors operated in an inert gas (e.g. N(2)), the nanohybrids exhibit high sensitivity, excellent selectivity, and repeatability to NO(2) under a practical dry air environment. This work suggests that NC decoration significantly tunes the properties of MoS(2) nanosheets for various applications.