Highly Sensitive Ammonia Gas Sensors at Room Temperature Based on the Catalytic Mechanism of N, C Coordinated Ni Single-Atom Active Center

Abstract

Highlights Exploiting single-atom catalytic activation and targeted adsorption properties, Ni single-atom active sites based on N, C coordination are constructed on the surface of two-dimensional MXene nanosheets (Ni–N–C/Ti3C2Tx), enabling highly sensitive and selective NH3 gas detection. The catalytic activation effect of Ni–N–C/Ti3C2Tx effectively reduces the Gibbs free energy of the sensing elemental reaction, while its electronic structure promotes the spill-over effect of reactive oxygen species at the gas–solid interface. An end-sealing passivation strategy utilizing a conjugated hydrogen bond network of the conductive polymer was employed on MXene-based flexible electrodes, effectively mitigating the oxidative degradation of MXene-based gas sensors.

Keywords

• Gas sensor
• Single atom
• Catalytic activation
• Targeted adsorption
• End-sealing passivation