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Updated: Jan 28, 2026

Ensemble Force Spectroscopy by Shear Forces
Published on: July 26, 2022
Shear-force exfoliation of indium and gallium chalcogenides for selective gas sensing applications
Petr Marvan1, Vlastimil Mazánek, Zdeněk Sofer
1Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic. zdenek.sofer@vscht.cz.
Abstract:
Layered chalcogenides AIIIBVI of gallium and indium form a group of semiconducting nanomaterials with huge potential in electronic, sensor and energy storage applications. However, the preparation method predetermines the usage of the prepared nanomaterial. In this paper, we investigated shear-force milling exfoliation in a surfactant free water/ethanol mixture on indium and gallium chalcogenides and their utilization in the gas sensing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The exfoliation of bulk materials in a surfactant-free environment helped to avoid any surface contamination and allowed the preparation of materials without non-covalently bonded large organic molecules. Furthermore, the gas-sensing properties were evaluated by electrical impedance spectroscopy on VOCs. Our results showed high sensitivity and selectivity towards methanol. This suggests that shear-force milling is an effective method for the exfoliation of indium and gallium chalcogenides which can find application in the selective gas sensing of VOCs.
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Shear Diagram
First, a free-body diagram of the beam is drawn, representing all the external forces and internal reactions acting on the beam. One can calculate the reaction forces at each support by employing the equilibrium equations of force and moment. The vertical component...

