Recently, two-dimensional (2D) materials and their heterostructures have attracted considerable attention in gas sensing applications. In this work, we synthesized 2D MoS2@MoO3 heterostructures through post-sulfurization of α-MoO3 nanoribbons grown via vapor phase transport (VPT) and demonstrated highly sensitive NO2 gas sensors based on the hybrid heterostructures. The morphological, structural, and compositional properties of the MoS2@MoO3 hybrids were studied by a combination of advanced characterization techniques revealing a core-shell structure with the coexistence of 2H-MoS2 multilayers and intermediate molybdenum oxysulfides on the surface of α-MoO3. The MoS2@MoO3 hybrids also exhibit room-temperature ferromagnetism, revealed by vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), as a result of the sulfurization process. The MoS2@MoO3 gas sensors display a p-type-like response towards NO2 with a detection limit of 0.15 ppm at a working temperature of 125 °C, as well as superb selectivity and reversibility. This p-type-like sensing behavior is attributed to the heterointerface of MoS2-MoO3 where interfacial charge transfer leads to a p-type inversion layer in MoS2, and is enhanced by magnetic dipole interactions between the paramagnetic NO2 and the ferromagnetic sensing layer. Our study demonstrates the promising application of 2D molybdenum hybrid compounds in gas sensing applications with a unique combination of electronic and magnetic properties.
Keywords: 2D materials; gas sensor; heterostructure; molybdenum disulfides; molybdenum trioxide; nitrogen dioxide; sulfurization.