Acetone sensing mechanism of Ar/O2 plasma modified indium oxide electrospun fibers: A combined DFT and experimental study

•A novel radio frequency cool plasma technology, using Ar/O2 mixed, was applied to surface modification of In2O3 electrospun nanofibers to form an oxide-rich structure.•Adsorption energy and electron transfer of acetone on In2O3 after modification was 1217 eV and 0.072 |e| according to the calculation results based on DFT, respectively, higher than that of before plasma modification, which are the vital reason to improve the acetone sensing properties of In2O3 sensor.•After modification of Ar/O2 mixed plasma, the doping state introduced by Ar/O2 mixed plasma change the electronic state of In2O3. The more adsorbed oxygen occupies the oxygen defects, adsorption ability of In2O3 gas sensor to acetone is increased greatly.