Laser-Assisted Mo₂C-Derived Patterned Oxide for Highly Selective Room Temperature Ammonia Sensor for Food Spoilage...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Sensing
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Advanced gas sensors are crucial for hazardous gas detection, breath analysis, and the food industry.
• Transition metal carbides (TMCs), such as Mo2C, show promise as gas-sensing materials due to their conductivity and catalytic properties.
• Challenges with TMCs include poor sensitivity and selectivity stemming from low surface area and limited reactive sites.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel method for creating highly efficient gas-sensing materials.
• To engineer Mo2C-derived oxides (MoO3) with enhanced properties for ammonia (NH3) sensing.
• To investigate the potential of laser-assisted engineering for advanced gas sensor development.

Main Methods:

• Utilized picosecond (ps) pulsed laser technology for temporally and spatially controlled micropatterning of Mo2C.
• Developed room-temperature fabrication of MoO3 nanoclusters uniformly decorated on Mo2C.
• Investigated the formation of Schottky barriers (SBs) between MoO3 and Mo2C for charge carrier modulation.

Main Results:

• Achieved highly efficient ammonia sensing with a MoO3/Mo2C sensor.
• Demonstrated excellent sensitivity (351% at 100 ppb NH3) and selectivity towards NH3 over other gases.
• Successfully applied the laser-treated Mo2C sensor for monitoring food spoilage, showing long-term stability.

Conclusions:

• Laser-assisted engineering provides a controlled approach to tune material properties for gas sensing.
• The developed MoO3/Mo2C sensor exhibits superior performance for NH3 detection.
• This method opens new possibilities for designing next-generation, highly efficient gas sensors for various applications.