Biofunctionalized magnetic nanoparticles incorporated MoS2 nanocomposite for enhanced n-butanol sensing at room temperature

Abstract

N-butanol is well known to be a flammable and harmful liquid that is a potential threat to human health and property. Therefore, it is important to monitor the concentration of n-butanol in the surroundings. The need for highly efficient toxic gas detection is urgent and has been driving the research on gas sensors for practical applications. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) has been attracting significant interest for gas detection at room temperature. Herein, we report biofunctionalized magnetic nanoparticles incorporated MoS₂ for sensing n-butanol. The biosynthesized magnetite nanoparticles (CT-Fe₃O₄) were synthesized by the addition of Cinnamomum Tamala (CT) leaf extract, and subsequently, the nanocomposite was synthesized using a hydrothermal method. Highly sensitive sensors based on MoS₂-CT-Fe₃O₄ were fabricated and tested for sensing different concentrations of n-butanol. The nanocomposites showed a good sensing performance ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi>Δ</mml:mi></mml:math> R/R_air %) of 72% towards 20 ppm of n-butanol, indicating the potential use of MoS₂-CT-Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite for sensing n-butanol at room temperature.