Boosting Room Temperature Sensing Performances by Atomically Dispersed Pd Stabilized via Surface Coordination.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Catalysis

Background:

• Growing global air pollution necessitates advanced gas sensing technologies.
• Existing room temperature (RT) chemiresistive sensors face challenges in sensitivity and selectivity.
• Single-atom catalysts (SACs) offer potential for enhanced catalytic activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel RT chemiresistive gas sensing material with improved sensitivity and selectivity.
• To explore the application of single-atom catalysts (SACs) in surface coordination for gas sensing.
• To demonstrate the efficacy of single palladium atoms on titanium dioxide (Pd1-TiO2) for CO detection.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of single palladium atoms supported on TiO2 (Pd1-TiO2) via surface coordination.
• Evaluation of catalytic activity for CO oxidation at room temperature.
• Chemiresistive gas sensing measurements to assess sensitivity, selectivity, and limit of detection (LOD).

Main Results:

• Pd1-TiO2 exhibited high efficiency in generating adsorbed O2- and high activity for CO oxidation at RT.
• Achieved record-high sensitivity for RT CO sensing, comparable to high-temperature materials.
• Demonstrated a significantly lower LOD for CO and high selectivity against 12 interfering gases.

Conclusions:

• Single-atom catalysts via surface coordination represent a promising strategy for high-performance RT gas sensing.
• Pd1-TiO2 offers a breakthrough in CO monitoring with unprecedented sensitivity and selectivity at room temperature.
• This work expands the application scope of SACs in environmental monitoring and gas sensing.