Flexible, Breathable and Hydrophobic SnO<sub>2</sub>–SnS<sub>2</sub>–SiO<sub>2</sub>/SiO<sub>2</sub> All‐Inorganic Self‐Supporting Nanofiber Membrane for Ultralow‐Concentration NO<sub>2</sub> Sensing Under High Humidity
Abstract Inorganic semiconductor gas sensors, being widely utilized in gas‐sensing applications, face significant challenges in attaining mechanical flexibility and humidity resistance in wearable sensing fields. Herein, a highly flexible, breathable, and hydrophobic all‐inorganic self‐supporting nanofiber (NF) gas sensor is developed using electrospinning combined with thermal sulfidation approach. This innovative sensor features a bilayer configuration, with an amorphous SiO 2 nanofiber substrate layer and an interwoven SiO 2 and SnO 2 –SnS 2 nanofiber active layer. The relatively low elastic modulus of the amorphous SiO 2 nanofibers, combined with the three‐dimensional network interwoven structure, endow the SnO 2 –SnS 2 –SiO 2 /SiO 2 sensor with superior mechanical flexibility. The sensor exhibits excellent sensitivity, selectivity, moisture resistance, and cycling stability (>10 000 cycles at 140° bending) to both high and low concentration NO 2 . Notably, an excellent flexible detecting capability of the sensor to NO 2 , an asthma‐related biomarker, is demonstrated at ultralow concentrations (≈25 ppb) in simulated exhaled breath environments. The enhanced moisture resistance is attributed to the effective inhibition of hydrogen bond formation from H 2 O molecules by the Sn─S bonds formed through sulfidation of SnO 2 nanofibers. This work represents a substantial advancement in the universal fabrication of flexible, breathable and moisture‐resistant inorganic semiconductor sensors for wearable breath sensing applications.
Authors
- Yanmin Jia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9657-0806)
- Jianzhi Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7636-8221)
- Hongbing Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5910-2106)
- Jinniu Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2549-1358)
- Benpeng Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5054-1495)
- Hongjun Wang
- Gangqiang Zhu
- Yumeng Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0927-9039)
- Xinlei Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9270-0527)
- Jia Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1965-9070)
- Qian Yu
Institutions
- Xi’an University of Posts and Telecommunications (CN)
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (CN)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Shaanxi University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Shaanxi Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Published
- 2024-09-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202410833
- Citations
- 17
- Primary Topic
- Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and Sensors
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.55
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities