With the increasing concern of global warming caused by greenhouse gases owing to the recent industrial development, there is a growing need for advanced technology to control these emissions. Among the various greenhouse gases, nitrogen dioxide (NO2)...
With the increasing concern of global warming caused by greenhouse gases owing to the recent industrial development, there is a growing need for advanced technology to control these emissions. Among the various greenhouse gases, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a major contributor to global warming and is mainly released from sources, such as automobile exhaust and factories. Although semiconductor-type NO2 gas sensors, such as SnO2, have been extensively studied, they often require high operating temperatures and complicated manufacturing processes, while lacking selectivity, resulting in inaccurate measurements of NO2 gas levels. To address these limitations, a novel sensor using PbS quantum dots (QDs) was developed, which operates at low temperatures and exhibits high selectivity toward NO2 gas owing to its strong oxidation reaction. Furthermore, the use of P3HT conductive polymer improved the thin film quality, reactivity, and reaction rate of the sensor.The sensor demonstrated the ability to accurately measure NO2 gas concentrations ranging from 500 to 100 ppm, with a 5.1 times higher sensitivity, 1.5 times higher response rate, and 1.15 times higher recovery rate compared with sensors withoutP3HT.