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Ppb-Level Selective Detection of Aniline and Trimethylamine Using a Ga2O3/GaON Heterojunction with Enhanced
Linhu Jin1,2, Kewei Zhang3, Xi Chen3
1State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials, college of physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China.
ACS Sensors
|June 16, 2026
Summary
This study presents a novel Ga2O3/GaON sensor for selective detection of aniline (AN) and trimethylamine (TMA) at 1 ppb. The sensor uses dual-mode detection, achieving high accuracy in classifying AN and TMA mixtures.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemical Sensing
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Selective detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like aniline (AN) and trimethylamine (TMA) is difficult due to their similar chemical properties.
- Existing methods struggle to differentiate between these trace compounds, limiting applications in environmental monitoring and safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a sensor capable of selective and sensitive detection of both aniline and trimethylamine.
- To enable dual-mode detection with switchable selectivity for distinguishing between AN and TMA.
- To create a reconfigurable platform for VOC discrimination applicable to intelligent electronic olfaction.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a Ga2O3/GaON heterojunction sensor.
- Dual-mode detection utilizing 450 nm light at room temperature for AN detection and 160 °C for TMA detection.
- In situ infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate detection mechanisms.
- Integration with an artificial neural network (ANN) for mixture classification.
Main Results:
- The Ga2O3/GaON sensor achieved selective detection of AN and TMA with a limit of detection (LOD) of 1 ppb for both.
- Switchable selectivity was demonstrated: AN detection under 450 nm light at room temperature, and TMA detection at 160 °C.
- DFT and spectroscopy revealed distinct Fermi-level hybridization states activating specific interfacial pathways (N-H···O and N-Ga).
- The ANN-integrated system achieved 93.5% accuracy in classifying mixtures of AN and TMA.
Conclusions:
- The developed Ga2O3/GaON heterojunction sensor offers a promising reconfigurable platform for selective VOC discrimination.
- The dual-mode detection strategy effectively addresses the challenge of differentiating chemically similar compounds.
- This technology has significant potential for environmental monitoring, food safety, and intelligent electronic nose applications.
