High-Performance Gas Sensor Using a Large-Area WS2 xSe2-2 x Alloy for Low-Power Operation Wearable Applications

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 10; no. 40; pp. 34163 - 34171
• Main Authors: Ko, Kyung Yong, Lee, Sangyoon, Park, Kyunam, Kim, Youngjun, Woo, Whang Je, Kim, Donghyun, Song, Jeong-Gyu, Park, Jusang, Kim, Jung Hwa, Lee, Zonghoon, Kim, Hyungjun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 10-10-2018
• ISSN: 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b10455

Two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have attracted considerable attention as promising building blocks for a new generation of gas-sensing devices because of their excellent electrical properties, superior response, flexibility, and low-power consumption. Owing to their large surface-to-volume ratio, various 2D TMDCs, such as MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2, have exhibited excellent gas-sensing characteristics. However, exploration toward the enhancement of TMDC gas-sensing performance has not yet been intensively addressed. Here, we synthesized large-area uniform WS2 xSe2-2 x alloys for room-temperature gas sensors. As-synthesized WS2 xSe2-2 x alloys exhibit an elaborative composition control owing to their thermodynamically stable sulfurization process. Further, utilizing uniform WS2 xSe2-2 x alloys over a large area, we demonstrated improved NO2-sensing performance compared to WSe2 on the basis of an electronic sensitization mechanism. The WS0.96Se1.04 alloy gas sensor exhibits 2.4 times enhanced response for NO2 exposure. Further, we demonstrated a low-power wearable NO2-detecting wristband that operates at room temperature. Our results show that the proposed method is a promising strategy to improve 2D TMDC gas sensors and has a potential for applications in advanced gas-sensing devices.