Effect of Nanosheet Size on NO2 Sensing Performance at Room Temperature

Ran Li; Elmehdi Ould Maina; Kassioge Dembele; Fatima Z. Bouanis

doi:10.1109/LSENS.2026.3699578

Effect of Nanosheet Size on NO₂ Sensing Performance at Room Temperature

Ran Li
, Elmehdi Ould Maina
, Kassioge Dembele
, Fatima Z. Bouanis

Institut polytechnique de Paris
Université Gustave Eiffel

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This work presents a low-cost and scalable solution-processing based approach to investigate the size-dependent NO₂ sensing performance of WS₂ nanosheets (NSs). WS₂ NSs were prepared by liquid-phase shear exfoliation (LPSE) and then size-selected by centrifugation. Structural analyses confirmed that increasing the centrifugation speed decreased the average lateral size from ∼80 to ∼25 nm. Then, compacted and thickness-controlled WS₂ thin films were fabricated by interfacial self-assembly. Gas sensors based on the WS₂ NSs prepared at 3000 and 6000 r/min both exhibited p-type responses, with comparable sensitivity. However, the 3000-sensor showed slower response and incomplete recovery, whereas the 6000-sensor displayed faster response and recovery but an overrecovery behavior. This difference is primarily attributed to variations in the distribution and nature of active sites, along with their associated adsorption energies. The results highlight the importance of NSs size control in tuning the dynamic response of solution-processed WS₂ gas sensors.

Original language	English
Article number	2001804
Journal	IEEE Sensors Letters
Volume	10
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/LSENS.2026.3699578
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2026

Keywords

Sensors materials
nanomaterial thin-film gas sensors
nanomaterials
nanosensors
nitrogen dioxide
solid-state sensors

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10.1109/LSENS.2026.3699578

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title = "Effect of Nanosheet Size on NO2 Sensing Performance at Room Temperature",

abstract = "This work presents a low-cost and scalable solution-processing based approach to investigate the size-dependent NO2 sensing performance of WS2 nanosheets (NSs). WS2 NSs were prepared by liquid-phase shear exfoliation (LPSE) and then size-selected by centrifugation. Structural analyses confirmed that increasing the centrifugation speed decreased the average lateral size from ∼80 to ∼25 nm. Then, compacted and thickness-controlled WS2 thin films were fabricated by interfacial self-assembly. Gas sensors based on the WS2 NSs prepared at 3000 and 6000 r/min both exhibited p-type responses, with comparable sensitivity. However, the 3000-sensor showed slower response and incomplete recovery, whereas the 6000-sensor displayed faster response and recovery but an overrecovery behavior. This difference is primarily attributed to variations in the distribution and nature of active sites, along with their associated adsorption energies. The results highlight the importance of NSs size control in tuning the dynamic response of solution-processed WS2 gas sensors.",

keywords = "Sensors materials, nanomaterial thin-film gas sensors, nanomaterials, nanosensors, nitrogen dioxide, solid-state sensors",

author = "Ran Li and Maina, \{Elmehdi Ould\} and Kassioge Dembele and Bouanis, \{Fatima Z.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017 IEEE.",

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doi = "10.1109/LSENS.2026.3699578",

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AU - Maina, Elmehdi Ould

AU - Dembele, Kassioge

AU - Bouanis, Fatima Z.

PY - 2026/7/1

Y1 - 2026/7/1

N2 - This work presents a low-cost and scalable solution-processing based approach to investigate the size-dependent NO2 sensing performance of WS2 nanosheets (NSs). WS2 NSs were prepared by liquid-phase shear exfoliation (LPSE) and then size-selected by centrifugation. Structural analyses confirmed that increasing the centrifugation speed decreased the average lateral size from ∼80 to ∼25 nm. Then, compacted and thickness-controlled WS2 thin films were fabricated by interfacial self-assembly. Gas sensors based on the WS2 NSs prepared at 3000 and 6000 r/min both exhibited p-type responses, with comparable sensitivity. However, the 3000-sensor showed slower response and incomplete recovery, whereas the 6000-sensor displayed faster response and recovery but an overrecovery behavior. This difference is primarily attributed to variations in the distribution and nature of active sites, along with their associated adsorption energies. The results highlight the importance of NSs size control in tuning the dynamic response of solution-processed WS2 gas sensors.

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KW - nanomaterial thin-film gas sensors

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KW - solid-state sensors

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Effect of Nanosheet Size on NO₂ Sensing Performance at Room Temperature

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Keywords

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