Nanohybrids of a MXene and transition metal dichalcogenide for selective detection of volatile organic compounds

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Two-dimensional transition metal carbides/nitrides, known as MXenes, have been recently receiving attention for gas sensing. However, studies on hybridization of MXenes and 2D transition metal dichalcogenides as gas-sensing materials are relatively rare at this time. Herein, Ti₃C₂Tx and WSe₂ are selected as model materials for hybridization and implemented toward detection of various volatile organic compounds. The Ti₃C₂Tx/WSe₂ hybrid sensor exhibits low noise level, ultrafast response/recovery times, and good flexibility for various volatile organic compounds. The sensitivity of the hybrid sensor to ethanol is improved by over 12-fold in comparison with pristine Ti₃C₂Tx. Moreover, the hybridization process provides an effective strategy against MXene oxidation by restricting the interaction of water molecules from the edges of Ti₃C₂Tx. An enhancement mechanism for Ti₃C₂Tx/WSe₂ heterostructured materials is proposed for highly sensitive and selective detection of oxygen-containing volatile organic compounds. The scientific findings of this work could guide future exploration of next-generation field-deployable sensors.