An ultraselective and ultrasensitive TEA sensor based on α-MoO3 hierarchical nanostructures and the sensing mechanism

Lili Sui; Xiaoxiao Song; Xiaoli Cheng; Xianfa Zhang; Yingming Xu; Shan Gao; Ping Wang; Hui Zhao; Lihua Huo

doi:10.1039/C5CE00693G

An ultraselective and ultrasensitive TEA sensor based on α-MoO₃ hierarchical nanostructures and the sensing mechanism†

Lili Sui,^ab Xiaoxiao Song,^a Xiaoli Cheng,^a Xianfa Zhang,^a Yingming Xu,*^a Shan Gao,^a Ping Wang,^ab Hui Zhao^a and Lihua Huo*^a

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* Corresponding authors

^a Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, People's Republic of China
E-mail: lhhuo68@yahoo.com
Fax: (+86) 0451 86608040
Tel: (+86) 0451 86608426

^b College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006, People's Republic of China

Abstract

Flower-like, hierarchically nanostructured α-MoO₃ was successfully synthesized via a one-step, template-free solvothermal route. Morphological characterization demonstrated that the nanostructures were hierarchically assembled by overlapping single-crystalline nanobelts with exposed (010) facets. These nanobelts, with a width of 40–60 nm and a thickness of 20–30 nm, grew radially from the core of the α-MoO₃ flower. The growth mechanism of the α-MoO₃ flower was speculated to be through oriented self-attachment of the nanobelts. The gas sensor based on α-MoO₃ flowers showed an excellent sensing performance towards triethylamine (TEA) in terms of a high response (931.2) and excellent selectivity towards 10 ppm TEA. Especially, the detection limit was down to 0.001 ppm at a working temperature of 170 °C. The surface status of the α-MoO₃ flowers before and after exposure to TEA at 170 °C was investigated by XPS. The probable oxidization product of TEA was analyzed by GC-MS. The MoO₃ sensing mechanism could be interpreted as the transformation of triethylamine to vinylamine through two catalytic oxidation processes: the reactions with chemisorbed oxygen, and with lattice oxygen. The possibility relating to an enhanced gas sensing response of the three-dimensional (3D) flower-like α-MoO₃ was discussed.

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Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C5CE00693G
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 09 Apr 2015
Accepted: 29 Jun 2015
First published: 01 Jul 2015

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CrystEngComm, 2015,17, 6493-6503

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An ultraselective and ultrasensitive TEA sensor based on α-MoO₃ hierarchical nanostructures and the sensing mechanism

L. Sui, X. Song, X. Cheng, X. Zhang, Y. Xu, S. Gao, P. Wang, H. Zhao and L. Huo, CrystEngComm, 2015, 17, 6493 DOI: 10.1039/C5CE00693G

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