Detection of n-Propanol Down to the Sub-ppm Level Using p-Type Delafossite AgCrO₂ Nanoparticles

As an important biomarker of lung cancer, n-propanol at the sub-ppm level is still challenging to be detected for a simple and immediate early diagnosis. In this work, a new n-propanol gas sensor with an ultralow detection limit down to 100 ppb is presented using AgCrO₂ nanoparticles synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. Compared with the congeneric CuCrO₂ and commercial SnO₂, AgCrO₂ exhibits prevailing performances, including a higher selectivity, dynamic response, and logarithmical linearity but lower working temperature. The first-principles calculation and the energy band theoretical analysis are combined to elucidate the sensing mechanism, in which the chemical adsorption of gaseous molecules to silver followed by the dehydrogenation on chromium on the surface of AgCrO₂ is responsible for the outstanding susceptibility toward n-propanol. The proposed metal oxide semiconductor gas sensor capable of sub-ppm n-propanol detection provides a route to design and optimize the sensitive material system for the advanced trace detection of the volatile organic compounds.