Growth and NO2 gas sensing mechanisms of vertically aligned 2D SnS2 flakes by CVD: Experimental and DFT studies

Two dimensional chalcogenides and metal sulfide materials with their sensitive surfaces are promising and potential postulant for the purpose of chemical gas sensing as a consequence of extraordinary vast surface area to volume ratio and significant band gap. We demonstrate a highly selective and sensitive NO2 gas sensor using vertically aligned 2D SnS2 flakes, grown by a chemical vapor deposition method in controlled gas flow. The vertically aligned SnS2 flakes were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The sensing behaviour of the vertical aligned structures was analyzed for various concentrations of NO2 at different temperatures. The sensor exhibits high gas sensing response (ΔR/R%) of ~164 at 120 °C with 50 ppm of NO2 gas, which is the highest response among the SnS2 based reports. The device shows excellent sensing response at room temperature but poor recovery. The selectivity of the sensor was performed under different gas environments and found highly selective towards NO2 gas, and the results are supported by electronic structure calculations. Based on experimental results and electronic structure calculations, a gas sensing mechanism is proposed. The result indicates that fabricated sensor can be used in air purification industries and in air monitoring.