A novel chemiresistive-type sensor for detecting sub-ppm NO2 has been fabricated using AuPt bimetal-decorated SnSe2 microflowers, which was synthesized by the hydrothermal treatment followed by in situ chemical reduction of the bimetal precursors on the surface of the petals of the microflowers. The as-prepared sensor registers a superior performance in detection of sub-ppm concentration of NO2. Functionalized by the AuPt bimetal, the SnSe2 microflower-based sensor shows a response of approximately 4.62 to 8 ppm NO2 at 130 °C. It is significantly higher than those of the sensors using the pristine SnSe2 (∼2.29) and the modified SnSe2 samples by a single metal, either Au (∼3.03) or Pt (∼3.97). The sensor demonstrates excellent long-term stability, signal repeatability, and selectivity to some typical interfering gaseous species including ammonia, acetone, formaldehyde, ethanol, methanol, benzene, CO2, SO2, and CO. The remarkable improvement of the sensitive characteristics could be induced by the electronic and chemical sensitization and the synergistic effect of the AuPt bimetal. Density functional theory (DFT) is implemented to calculate the adsorption states of NO2 on the sensing materials and thus to possibly reveal the sensing mechanism. The significantly enhanced response of the SnSe2-based sensor decorated with AuPt bimetallic nanoparticles has been found to be possibly caused by the orbital hybridization of O, Au, and Pt atoms leading to the redistribution of electrons, which is beneficial for NO2 molecules to obtain more electrons from the composite material.
Keywords: AuPt bimetal; NO2 detection; SnSe2 microflowers; density functional theory; gas sensors.