Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) garner significant attention for their potential to create high-performance gas sensors. Despite their favorable properties such as tunable bandgap, high carrier mobility, and large surface-to-volume ratio, the performance of TMDCs devices is compromised by sulfur vacancies, which reduce carrier mobility. To mitigate this issue, we propose a simple and universal approach for patching sulfur vacancies, wherein thiol groups are inserted to repair sulfur vacancies. The sulfur vacancy patching (SVP) approach is applied to fabricate a MoS2-based gas sensor using mechanical exfoliation and all-dry transfer methods, and the resulting 4-nitrothiophenol (4NTP) repaired molybdenum disulfide (4NTP-MoS2) is prepared via a sample solution process. Our results show that 4NTP-MoS2 exhibits higher response (increased by 200 %) to ppb-level NO2 with shorter response/recovery times (61/82 s) and better selectivity at 25 °C compared to pristine MoS2. Notably, the limit of detection (LOD) toward NO2 of 4NTP-MoS2 is 10 ppb. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and density functional theory (DFT) reveal that the improved gas sensing performance is mainly attributed to the 4NTP-induced n-doping effect on MoS2 and the corresponding increment of surface absorption energy to NO2. Additionally, our 4NTP-induced SVP approach is universal for enhancing gas sensing properties of other TMDCs, such as MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2.@en

Constructing near-infrared light (NIR) light-enhanced room temperature gas sensors is becoming more promising for practical application. In this study, learning from the structure and photosynthetic process of chlorophyll thylakoid membranes in plants, the first “Thylakoid membrane” structural formaldehyde (HCHO) sensor is constructed by matching the upconversion emission of the lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and the UV–vis adsorption of the as-prepared nanocomposites. The NIR-mediated sensor exhibits excellent performances, including ultra-high response (Ra / Rg = 2.22, 1 ppm), low practical limit of detection (50 ppb), reliable repeatability, high selectivity, and broadband spectral response. The practicality of the NIR-mediated gas sensor is confirmed through the remote and external stimulation test. A study of sensing mechanism demonstrates that it is the UCNPs-based light transducer produces more light-induced oxygen species for gas response in the process of non-radiative/radiative energy transfer, playing a key role in significantly improving the sensing properties of the sensor. The universality of NIR-mediated gas sensors based on UCNPs is verified using ZnO, In2O3, and SnO2 systems. This work paves a way for fabricating high-performance NIR-mediated gas sensors and will expand the application fields of NIR light.@en

Achieving convenient and accurate detection of indoor ppb-level formaldehyde is an urgent requirement to ensure a healthy working and living environment for people. Herein, ultrasmall In2O3 nanorods and supramolecularly functionalized reduced graphene oxide are selected as hybrid components of visible-light-driven (VLD) heterojunctions to fabricate ppb-level formaldehyde (HCHO) gas sensors (named InAG sensors). Under 405 nm visible light illumination, the sensor exhibits an outstanding response toward ppb-level HCHO at room temperature, including the ultralow practical limit of detection (pLOD) of 5 ppb, high response (Ra/Rg = 2.4, 500 ppb), relatively short response/recovery time (119 s/179 s, 500 ppb), high selectivity, and long-term stability. The ultrasensitive room temperature HCHO-sensing property is derived from visible-light-driven and large-area heterojunctions between ultrasmall In2O3 nanorods and supramolecularly functionalized graphene nanosheets. The performance of the actual detection toward HCHO is evaluated in a 3 m3 test chamber, confirming the practicability and reliability of the InAG sensor. This work provides an effective strategy for the development of low-power-consumption ppb-level gas sensors.@en

It is a great challenge to develop efficient room-temperature sensing materials and sensors for nitric oxide (NO) gas, which is a biomarker molecule used in the monitoring of inflammatory respiratory diseases. Herein, Hemin (Fe (III)-protoporphyrin IX) is introduced into the nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-rGO) to obtain a novel sensing material HNG-ethanol. Detailed XPS spectra and DFT calculations confirm the formation of carbon–iron bonds in HNG-ethanol during synthesis process, which act as electron transport channels from graphene to Hemin. Owing to this unique chemical structure, HNG-ethanol exhibits superior gas sensing properties toward NO gas (Ra/Rg = 3.05, 20 ppm) with a practical limit of detection (LOD) of 500 ppb and reliable repeatability (over 5 cycles). The HNG-ethanol sensor also possesses high selectivity against other exhaled gases, high humidity resistance, and stability (less than 3% decrease over 30 days). In addition, a deep understanding of the gas sensing mechanisms is proposed for the first time in this work, which is instructive to the community for fabricating sensing materials based on graphene-iron derivatives in the future.@en

Implementing parts per billion-level nitric oxide (NO) sensing at room temperature (RT) is still in extreme demand for monitoring inflammatory respiratory diseases. Herein, we have prepared a kind of core-shell structural Hemin-based nanospheres (Abbr.: Hemin-nanospheres, defined as HNSs) with the core of amorphous Hemin and the shell of acetone-derived carbonized polymer, whose core-shell structure was verified by XPS with argon-ion etching. Then, the HNS-assembled reduced graphene oxide composite (defined as HNS-rGO) was prepared for RT NO sensing. The acetone-derived carbonized polymer shell not only assists the formation of amorphous Hemin core by disrupting their crystallization to release more Fe-N4 active sites, but provides protection to the core. Owing to the unique core-shell structure, the obtained HNS-rGO based sensor exhibited superior RT gas sensing properties toward NO, including a relatively higher response (Ra/Rg = 5.8, 20 ppm), a lower practical limit of detection (100 ppb), relatively reliable repeatability (over 6 cycles), excellent selectivity, and much higher long-term stability (less than a 5% decrease over 120 days). The sensing mechanism has also been proposed based on charge transfer theory. The superior gas sensing properties of HNS-rGO are ascribed to the more Fe-N4 active sites available under the amorphous state of the Hemin core and to the physical protection by the shell of acetone-derived carbonized polymer. This work presents a facile strategy of constructing a high-performance carbon-based core-shell nanostructure for gas sensing. @en

A systematic experimental investigation concerning the fretting-induced tribo-chemical state and its effect on the fretting wear behavior of titanium alloys under the vacuum atmospheres (4 × 10–3 Pa and 4 × 10–1 Pa) in different fretting regimes is reported. An in situ XPS analysis tester was developed to capture the real tribo-chemical state of worn surface for all test conditions. Results show that samples subjected to different vacuum atmospheres have varied tribo-chemical states depending on the fretting regime, which play significantly different roles in determining the associated damage mechanisms and the resulting fretting wear resistance. Under both vacuum atmospheres, in the partial slip regime (PSR) the worn scars were mainly covered by TiO2, showing comparable levels of very slight damage, while in the mixed fretting regime (MFR), the tribo-layer is still mainly consisted of TiO2, but with an evident peak of Ti metal for the high vacuum degree (4 × 10–3 Pa) in MFR, showing a mild damage. In contrast, in the gross slip regime (GSR), Ti metal was prone to be oxidized to Ti2O3 and TiO on the worn scar, especially for the low vacuum degree (4 × 10–1 Pa) having a highest content of Ti2O3. It might be inferred that the tribo-layer containing more Ti2O3 formed during fretting wear process is susceptible to be broken, hence showing a highest fretting wear volume in GSR for the low vacuum degree. The results suggest that for the vacuum environments, the Ti6Al4V may be more suitable to be used under the high vacuum atmosphere.@en

Inspired by the CO2-induced reversible activation mechanism of the slow anion channel 1 (SLAC1) in plant stomatal guard cells during plant photosynthesis, we designed and prepared a CO2- switchable H+/OH− ion channel (CSPH ion channel). A high-performance chemiresistive room temperature CO2 sensor has been prepared based on this CSPH ion channel. The obtained CO2 room temperature sensor γ-CD-MOF@RhB exhibits high sensitivity (Rg/R0 = 1.50, 100 ppm), excellent selectivity, good stability (less than 5% reduction in 30 days response value), and 99.96% consistency with commercial infrared CO2 meter. The practical limit of detection (pLOD) of the γ-CD-MOF@RhB sensor reaches 10 ppm at room temperature toward CO2, which is the lowest for reported MOF-derived chemiresistive room temperature CO2 sensors so far. Ion conduction mechanism studies have shown that the CSPH ion channel behaves as a CO2-switchable H+/OH− ion channel with a switching point of approximately 60 000 ppm CO2. As an application attempt, the fabricated low pLOD CO2 sensor has been used for human exhaled CO2 detection to compare CO2 concentration in the breath of individuals before and after exercise and COVID-19. It was also logically indicated that the average concentration of human exhaled CO2 after COVID-19 recovery is different for undiseased subjects.@en