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Ultrasonication assisted fabrication of a tungsten sulfide/tungstite heterostructure for ppb-level ammonia detection at room temperature.

Ravindra Kumar JhaAman NandaNavakanta Bhat
Published in: RSC advances (2020)
A heterostructure of WS 2 /WO 3 ·H 2 O has been prepared by partial oxidation of WS 2 nanosheets by exposing bulk WS 2 micron powder to ultrasonic waves in a bath sonicator. The as-prepared nanomaterial was used as a sensing film in an interdigitated electrode-based gas detecting device. The device was found to be specific towards ammonia gas among a group oxidizing and reducing gases. In particular, a response of as high as 11.36-254.66% was recorded for ammonia concentrations of 50 ppb to 2 ppm with excellent repeatability and reproducibility at room temperature. The response time and recovery time of the device was found to be a few tens of seconds suggesting its practicability. A plausible mechanism based on different active sites present in the receptor film is proposed and a logical reason behind its specificity towards ammonia gas is also inferred based on the Lewis acidic centers on the nano-surfaces. Overall, this proposed nanomaterial has very high potential for practical use as a room temperature ammonia sensor.
Keyphrases
  • room temperature
  • ionic liquid
  • reduced graphene oxide
  • quantum dots
  • hydrogen peroxide
  • climate change
  • biofilm formation
  • human health
  • real time pcr
  • electron transfer