Atomically Dispersed Pt on Three-Dimensional Ordered Macroporous SnO₂ for Highly Sensitive and Highly Selective...

Triethylamine (TEA) is a widely used volatile organic chemical, which is harmful and can cause headache, dizziness, and respiratory discomfort. Developing an efficient sensor to detect trace amounts of TEA is significant for industrial and healthcare monitoring. In this work, SnO₂ with a three-dimensional ordered macroporous structure (3DOM) was prepared through a polymethylmethacrylate sphere template route. The TEA sensing performance of the 3DOM SnO₂ was enhanced through Pt loading. Aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy images and X-ray absorption fine-structure analysis indicate that Pt on the 3DOM 0.20% Pt/SnO₂ surface mainly exists in the state of atomic dispersion, which results in more active sites, higher Hall mobility and active oxygen contents, and lower response energy barriers. The 0.20% Pt/SnO₂ sensor has a low operating temperature of 80 °C and a low limit of detection (0.32 ppb). Because of the uniform adsorption of TEA on the atomically dispersed Pt, the 3DOM Pt/SnO₂ sensor exhibits high selectivity.