MXene-activated graphene oxide enhancing NO2 capture and detection of surface acoustic wave sensors

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology has been widely used in the field of harmful gas detection, but there remain a lot of challenges, such as long response/recovery time as well as poor selectivity and repeatability. Herein, we activate graphene oxide (GO) using MXene with excellent adsorption capacity (MXene/GO) to realize efficient NO2 gas detection. The SAW sensor assembled with the multilayered MXene/GO composite showcases an enhanced gas sensing performance to the NO2 gas (1-200 ppm) enabling high sensitivity (Delta f = 260 Hz/ ppm), fast response/recovery time, excellent selectivity, and good repeatability at room temperature. The enhanced high sensitivity and selectivity detection of NO2 gas is attributed to the large pore size, hydrophilicity, and abundant surface functional groups of the multilayered MXene/GO composite. This elaborate design is expected to propel the development of next-generation acoustic gas phase sensors.