Porous γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticle decorated with atomically dispersed platinum: Study on atomic site structural change and gas sensor activity evolution

• Published in: Nano research Vol. 14; no. 5; pp. 1435 - 1442
• Main Authors: Li, Qiheng, Li, Zhi, Zhang, Qinghua, Zheng, Lirong, Yan, Wensheng, Liang, Xiao, Gu, Lin, Chen, Chen, Wang, Dingsheng, Peng, Qing, Li, Yadong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Tsinghua University Press 01.05.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Atom economy; Atomic/Molecular Structure and Spectra; Biomedicine; Biotechnology; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed Matter Physics; Dispersion; Ethanol; Ferric oxide; Gas sensors; Industrial applications; Iron oxides; Materials Science; Metal oxides; Metals; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Noble metals; Organic compounds; Platinum; Research Article; Selectivity; Sensitivity enhancement; Sensors; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; gas sensor; structure-activity relationship; nanocomposites; isolated single atom sites
• ISSN: 1998-0124; 1998-0000
• DOI: 10.1007/s12274-020-3199-5

Decorating semi-conducting metal oxide with noble metal has been recognized as a viable approach to improve the sensitivity of gas sensor. However, conventional method which relys on noble metal nanoparticles is confronted with drawback of significantly increased cost. To maximize the atom efficiency and reduce the cost for practical industrial application, designing sensor material with noble metal isolated single atom sites (ISAS) doping is a desired option. Here, we report an atomically dispersed platinum on one-dimensional arranged porous γ-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticle composites as highly efficient ethanol gas sensor. The optimized sample (Pt 1 -Fe 2 O 3 -ox) exhibited a high response ( R a / R g = 102.4) and good selectivity to ethanol gas. It is demonstrated only the Pt single atom sites with high valance can effectively promote the adsorption capacity to ethanol and consequently enhance the sensitivity of sensing process by changing the electrical structure of Fe 2 O 3 support. This work indicates the single atom sites could play a vital role in improving the performance of conventional metal oxides gas sensors and pave way for the exploration of ISAS-enhanced gas sensor for other volatile organic compounds (VOCs).