Novel ordered dendritic InWO4-rGO p-n heterojunction for fast response to TEA

The ternary metal oxides that combine two different metal cations is an interesting candidate as sensing material based on their interesting properties. Hence, ordered dendrite InWO 4 was successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal method, followed by the construction of an InWO 4 -rGO heterojunction to enhance detection capability for triethylamine (TEA) gas. The synthesized product underwent morphology and elemental composition analysis using various techniques. Gas sensing experiments revealed that the InWO 4 -rGO gas sensor, operating at the optimal temperature of 220 ℃, displayed a significantly improved response to 100 ppm TEA, with a high value of 59.5, in comparison to the pure InWO 4 gas sensor (11.5 at 250 ℃). Additionally, the recovery time was reduced from 184 s to 122 s. Based on experimental data and gas sensing reaction theory, this study attributes the improved gas sensing performance to the formation of p-n heterojunction, a larger specific surface area and rGO's catalytic effect. This study not only introduces a novel addition to the gas sensing material family but also promotes the development of advanced gas sensors.