Enhanced nanofunctional chemiresistors for detecting volatile organic coumpounds and greenhouse emissions

The project will deal with study of chemical reactions taking place on the surface of working gas sensor during the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and greenhouse gases (GHGs). A novel operando approach based on investigation of the surface chemistry by near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) and simultaneous following the sensor response while exposing it to an analyte will be applied for study of the gas sensing mechanism of metal oxide nanostructured (MOX-NS) layers decorated with noble metals. The approach will reveal more aspects regarding the connection between the sensor performance parameters (sensitivity and selectivity) and the surface chemistry which directly influences the gas sensing mechanism and depends on the structure of the sensing layer. Different MOX-NS layers based on SnO2, ZnO, CeOx decorated with noble metals (Pt, Au) will be investigated focusing the attention on the gas sensing mechanism in a presence of GHGs (CO, CH4, CO2) and some common VOCs (ethanol, acetaldehyde).