Highly Sensitive NO₂ Gas Sensors Based on MoS₂@MoO₃ Magnetic Heterostructure

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) materials and their heterostructures have attracted considerable attention in gas sensing applications. In this work, we synthesized 2D MoS₂@MoO₃ heterostructures through post-sulfurization of α-MoO₃ nanoribbons grown via vapor phase transport (VPT) and demonstrated highly sensitive NO₂ gas sensors based on the hybrid heterostructures. The morphological, structural, and compositional properties of the MoS₂@MoO₃ hybrids were studied by a combination of advanced characterization techniques revealing a core-shell structure with the coexistence of 2H-MoS₂ multilayers and intermediate molybdenum oxysulfides on the surface of α-MoO₃. The MoS₂@MoO₃ hybrids also exhibit room-temperature ferromagnetism, revealed by vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), as a result of the sulfurization process. The MoS₂@MoO₃ gas sensors display a p-type-like response towards NO₂ with a detection limit of 0.15 ppm at a working temperature of 125 °C, as well as superb selectivity and reversibility. This p-type-like sensing behavior is attributed to the heterointerface of MoS₂-MoO₃ where interfacial charge transfer leads to a p-type inversion layer in MoS₂, and is enhanced by magnetic dipole interactions between the paramagnetic NO₂ and the ferromagnetic sensing layer. Our study demonstrates the promising application of 2D molybdenum hybrid compounds in gas sensing applications with a unique combination of electronic and magnetic properties.