Issue 19, 2024

Catalytic synergy of WS2-anchored PdSe2 for highly sensitive hydrogen gas sensor

Abstract

Hydrogen (H2) is widely used in industrial processes and is one of the well-known choices for storage of renewable energy. H2 detection has become crucial for safety in manufacturing, storage, and transportation due to its strong explosivity. To overcome the issue of explosion, there is a need for highly selective and sensitive H2 sensors that can function at low temperatures. In this research, we have adequately fabricated an unreported van der Waals (vdWs) PdSe2/WS2 heterostructure, which exhibits exceptional properties as a H2 sensor. The formation of these heterostructure devices involves the direct selenization process using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of Pd films that have been deposited on the substrate of SiO2/Si by DC sputtering, followed by drop casting of WS2 nanoparticles prepared by a hydrothermal method onto device substrates including pre-patterned electrodes. The confirmation of the heterostructure has been done through the utilization of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), depth-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) techniques. Also, the average roughness of thin films is decided by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The comprehensive research shows that the PdSe2/WS2 heterostructure-based sensor produces a response that is equivalent to 67.4% towards 50 ppm H2 at 100 °C. The response could be a result of the heterostructure effect and the superior selectivity for H2 gas in contrast to other gases, including NO2, CH4, CO and CO2, suggesting tremendous potential for H2 detection. Significantly, the sensor exhibits fast response and a recovery time of 31.5 s and 136.6 s, respectively. Moreover, the explanation of the improvement in gas sensitivity was suggested by exploiting the energy band positioning of the PdSe2/WS2 heterostructure, along with a detailed study of variations in the surface potential. This study has the potential to provide a road map for the advancement of gas sensors utilizing two-dimensional (2D) vdWs heterostructures, which exhibit superior performance at low temperatures.

Graphical abstract: Catalytic synergy of WS2-anchored PdSe2 for highly sensitive hydrogen gas sensor

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Jan 2024
Accepted
16 Apr 2024
First published
16 Apr 2024

Nanoscale, 2024,16, 9593-9602

Catalytic synergy of WS2-anchored PdSe2 for highly sensitive hydrogen gas sensor

S. Kumar, A. Kumar, A. Kumar, A. G. Chakkar, A. Betal, P. Kumar, S. Sahu and M. Kumar, Nanoscale, 2024, 16, 9593 DOI: 10.1039/D4NR00342J

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