Speaker
Description
MXenes, owing to their unique morphology, high surface-to-volume ratio, and metallic conductivity, have gained significant attention as promising materials for gas sensing. Conventional MXene-based sensors primarily utilize electrical conductivity for signal transduction, but alternative mechanisms, such as mass-sensitive detection, can further enhance their selectivity and stability. Micro-quartz tuning forks (MQTF) offer an excellent platform for mass-sensitive gas sensing due to their high mechanical quality factor, stable resonance frequency, low power consumption, and compact size. By leveraging MQTF’s frequency shift mechanism, MXene-based gas sensors can achieve improved sensitivity and selectivity without concerns about conductivity degradation. In this study, we developed and optimized Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene-functionalized MQTF gas sensors by modifying the surface chemistry of MXene to selectively detect CO, SO₂, and NH₃. Functionalization with -NH₂ and -F groups enabled tunable interactions with specific gases, significantly enhancing sensing performance. The Ti₃C₂Tₓ-NH₂ sensors demonstrated high selectivity for SO₂, while Ti₃C₂Tₓ-F sensors exhibited the strongest response to CO. Furthermore, increasing the surface modification temperature from 25 to 60 °C doubled the sensitivity of Ti₃C₂Tₓ-NH₂ for SO₂ detection. These findings highlight the importance of surface chemistry engineering in MXene-based gas sensors, providing a scalable strategy for designing highly selective and sensitive sensors. This work advances MXene’s potential for air quality monitoring, wearable electronics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and robotic applications. Further advancements in AI-powered materials discovery could accelerate the identification of optimal MXene compositions and functionalization strategies, enabling the design of next-generation gas sensors with unprecedented performance.
