Highly sensitive and selective triethylamine gas sensor based on Ag nanoparticles-decorated MoO₃ nanobelts

Preparing a highly sensitive and fast response/recovery detection against triethylamine (TEA) gas remains a significant challenge in gas sensor applications. In this article, the MoO₃ nanobelts and Ag nanoparticles were successfully fabricated through a facile hydrothermal treatment. The characterization results clearly confirmed that Ag nanoparticles were deposited in the outer layer of MoO₃ nanobelts. The gas sensing properties of Ag/MoO₃ nanocomposites were also carefully studied. The response value of Ag/MoO₃ nanocomposites sensors is almost twice higher than that of pristine MoO₃ nanobelts. In addition, the as-fabricated Ag/MoO₃ nanocomposites sensor exhibited an excellent selectivity to TEA gas, including relative low detection limit could be down towards 5 ppm TEA with a response as 26.58, fast response and recovery speeds (∼3 s, ∼6 s). Some plausible mechanisms of Ag/MoO₃ nanocomposites toward TEA were also discussed in detail, which is an excellent candidate for rapid and accurate induction of TEA in actual practice and human health protection. (paper)