Highly ammonia-sensitive triboelectric materials enabled by gas-sensing enhancement effect

Ammonia (NH 3 ) detection is crucial to ensure health safety and food quality. Real-time NH 3 detection in food circulation faces challenges such as low sensitivity and instability under different conditions. This study proposes an integrated NH 3 sensor based on triboelectric nanogenerators, in which the NH 3 -sensitive triboelectric material is formed by is in situ grown of polyaniline (PANI) on a SnO 2 -doped balsa scaffold. The balsa scaffold/PANI/SnO 2 sensor demonstrates excellent stability under wide operating range (25 %–99 % RH, −20 to 20 °C) and can detect NH 3 in real-time. The conductive network formed by the in-situ growth of PANI significantly enhances the electrical output performance. Thanks to the large specific surface area of the porous structure of natural balsa scaffold and gas-sensing enhancement of PANI/ SnO 2 heterojunction, the composite exhibits a strong NH 3 response and a low detection limit. The sensor shows a 41.5 % response at 100 ppm NH 3 concentration, a 30 % improvement compared to that of the balsa scaffold/PANI sensor, and a minimal detection limit of 5 ppm. Additionally, the triboelectric gas sensor as a wireless sensing terminal in smart devices successfully detects the food spoilage process in real-time to the user interface. This study introduces a novel approach for developing natural wood-based gas sensors, highlighting their potential in real-time food quality monitoring.