Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanosheets Decorated Flower-like NiO Composites for High-Performance Triethylamine Detection

Xiaoze Li; Yan Wang; Wendi Tian; Jianliang Cao

doi:10.1021/acsomega.9b00905

Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanosheets Decorated Flower-like NiO Composites for High-Performance Triethylamine Detection

ACS Omega. 2019 Jun 3;4(6):9645-9653. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.9b00905. eCollection 2019 Jun 30.

Authors

Xiaoze Li¹, Yan Wang¹, Wendi Tian¹, Jianliang Cao¹

Affiliation

¹ The Collaboration Innovation Center of Coal Safety Production of Henan Province, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and College of Safety Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Gas Geology and Gas Control, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454000, P. R. China.

Abstract

The graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) nanosheets decorated three-dimensional hierarchical flower-like nickel oxide (NiO) composites (NiO/g-C₃N₄, Ni/CN) were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method combined with a subsequent annealing process. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared Ni/CN composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and nitrogen absorption. The gas-sensing experiments reveal that the composites with 10 wt % two-dimensional g-C₃N₄ (Ni/CN-10) not only exhibits the highest response of 20.03 that is almost 3 times higher than pristine NiO to 500 ppm triethylamine (TEA) at the optimal operating temperature of 280 °C but also shows a good selectivity toward TEA. The gas-sensitivity promotion mechanism is attributed to the internal charge transfer within the p-n heterojunction. Furthermore, the high specific surface area of the Ni/CN composites promotes adequate contact and reaction between the composites and triethylamine molecules. Therefore, the Ni/CN sensor has a great potential application in detecting TEA.