Carbonized polymer dots activated hierarchical tungsten oxide for efficient and stable triethylamine sensor

Hierarchical metal oxide semiconductors present great potential in detecting toxic and hazardous gases with special emphasis on the regulation of their structures and compositions to advance sensor performance. Herein, marine polysaccharide derived carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) are presented to activate hierarchical tungsten oxide (WO3) as efficient and stable triethylamine sensor. Owing to the promoted receptor and transducer function of the oxide/polymer/carbon heterostructure, the CPDs/WO3 sensor exhibits extraordinary sensing characteristics for triethylamine detection, including higher response (4.3 times), faster response/recovery (4.3 times/2.1 times), lower operating temperature (30 degrees C) and lower detection limit (2.4 times) as compared with hierarchical WO3 sensor, which are also superior to most of the previous reports related to triethylamine detection. Importantly, the adsorption-desorption kinetic of WO3 is found to be enhanced by 67 times after introducing CPDs, mainly derived from abundant slit-like channels for gas diffuse, desirable defect feature as reactive sites, and favorable 0D-2D interface for charge transfer and transport. This work not only establishes an alternative strategy for promoting metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors but also provides a fundamental understanding of CPDs in gas-sensing field.

Automated summary

This study presents a novel approach to activate hierarchical tungsten oxide (WO3) using marine polysaccharide derived carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) as efficient and stable triethylamine sensor, showing extraordinary sensing characteristics with faster response, lower operating temperature, and more accurate detection limit compared to traditional WO3 sensors. The enhanced adsorption-desorption kinetic of WO3 after introducing CPDs is mainly derived from abundant slit-like channels for gas diffusion, desirable defect features as reactive sites, and favorable 0D-2D interface for charge transfer and transport.