This paper reports an original fabrication of a benzene gas sensor based on tungsten disulfide nanoflowers (WS2 NFs)/zinc oxide hollow spheres (ZnO HMDs) hierarchical nanoheterostructure. The ZnO/WS2 hierarchical composite was characterized for the inspection of its nanostructure, elementary composition, and surface morphology. The benzene-sensing properties of the ZnO/WS2 nanofilm sensor were exactly investigated. The results illustrate that the ZnO/WS2 sensor exhibits a remarkable sensing performance toward benzene gas, including good sensitivity, rapid detection, outstanding repeatability, and stability. This is attributed to the fact that the ZnO/WS2 nanoheterostructure can dramatically enhance the benzene sensing performance. Furthermore, density functional theory was employed to construct the benzene gas adsorption model for the ZnO/WS2 heterostructure, from which the determined parameters in geometry, energy, and charge provided a powerful support for the mechanism explanation. This work suggests that the ZnO/WS2 nanoheterostructure is competent to detect trace benzene gas at room temperature.
Keywords: WS nanoflowers; ZnO hollow spheres; benzene-sensing; density functional theory; nanoheterostructure.