High-Sensitivity Ammonia Sensors with Carbon Nanowall Active Material via Laser-Induced Transfer

Ammonia sensors with high sensitivity, reproducible response, and low cost are of paramount importance for medicine, i.e., being a biomarker to diagnose lung and renal conditions, and agriculture, given that fertilizer application and livestock manure account for more than 80% of NH₃ emissions. Thus, in this work, we report the fabrication of ultra-sensitive ammonia sensors by a rapid, efficient, and solvent-free laser-based procedure, i.e., laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT). LIFT has been used to transfer carbon nanowalls (CNWs) onto flexible polyimide substrates pre-patterned with metallic electrodes. The feasibility of LIFT is validated by the excellent performance of the laser-printed CNW-based sensors in detecting different concentrations of NH₃ in the air, at room temperature. The sensors prepared by LIFT show reversible responses to ammonia when exposed to 20 ppm, whilst at higher NH₃ concentrations, the responses are quasi-dosimetric. Furthermore, the laser-printed CNW-based sensors have a detection limit as low as 89 ppb and a response time below 10 min for a 20 ppm exposure. In addition, the laser-printed CNW-based sensors are very robust and can withstand more than 200 bending cycles without loss of performance. This work paves the way for the application and integration of laser-based techniques in device fabrication, overcoming the challenges associated with solvent-assisted chemical functionalization.