Synergistic Enhancement of Chemiresistive NO2 Gas Sensors Using Nitrogen-Doped Reduced Graphene Oxide (N-rGO) Decorated with Nickel Oxide (NiO) Nanoparticles: Achieving sub-ppb Detection Limit

Detecting low nitrogen dioxide concentrations (NO₂) is crucial for environmental monitoring. In this paper, we report the synergistic effect of decorating nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-rGO) with nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticles for developing highly selective and sensitive chemiresistive NO₂ gas sensors. The N-rGO/NiO sensor was synthesized straightforwardly, ensuring uniform decoration of NiO nanoparticles on the N-rGO surface. Comprehensive characterization using SEM, TEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the successful integration of NiO nanoparticles with N-rGO and revealed key structural and morphological features contributing to its enhanced sensing performance. As a result, the NiO/N-rGO nanohybrids demonstrate a significantly enhanced response five orders of magnitude higher than that of N-rGO toward low NO₂ concentrations (<1 ppm) at 100 °C. Moreover, the present device has an outstanding performance, high sensitivity, and low limit of detection (<1 ppb). The findings pave the way for integrating these sensors into advanced applications, including environmental monitoring and IoT-enabled air quality management systems.