Uniform CdS/ZnO core/shell nanowires are hydrothermally synthesized using a two‐step process and assembled into a photodetector and a NO2 optoelectronic sensor for the first time. The corresponding photodetector exhibits a fast, reversible, and stable optoelectronic response with a rise time of ∼26 ms, a decay time of ∼2.1 ms and a stability of over 5 months. The remarkable photosensitivity and fast photoresponse are attributed to the formation of a heterojunction structure between CdS and ZnO, which greatly inhibits the recombination of photoinduced electrons and holes. The CdS/ZnO core/shell nanowires also show an excellent visible‐light‐activated gas sensing performance towards ppb‐level NO2 at room temperature. The responses range from 6.7% to 337% toward NO2 concentrations of 5 to 1000 ppb. It is found that the sensitivity of the NO2 sensor is dependent on the illuminated light intensity with a maximum value at 0.68 mW/cm2. The sensing mechanisms of the CdS/ZnO nanowires under visible‐light irradiation and the influence of light intensity are also discussed. The present CdS/ZnO core/shell nanowire not only benefits the fabrication of efficient photodetectors, but also makes the instant, optically controlled sensing of ppb‐level NO2 gas possible.

A rapid, ultrasensitive artificial olfactory system based on an individual optoelectronic Schottky junction is demonstrated for the discriminative detection of explosive vapors, including military explosives and improvised explosives.

4039wileyonlinelibrary.com mole cules and depends highly on the analyte concentrations. [8][9][10][11][12] As a result, the traditional Ohm-contacted nanosensor has diffi culty in realizing the ultrasensitive detection in real circumstances where open environment must be considered. Recently, it was demonstrated that Schottky contact could largely improve the sensitivity of nanosensors due to that Schottky barrier serves as a "gate" controlling the current passing through the barrier, [ 13,14 ] and the value of this current highly depends on the Schottky barrier height (SBH). A small change in SBH will lead to a huge change in current, which is the basis of the Schottky barrier enhanced sensing. [ 13 ] The selection of the components of the Schottky junction is of vital importance to improve the sensor performance, which highly depends on the energy band structure and adsorption characteristics. It is reported that a higher SBH favors a better sensitivity in a Schottky-gated sensor toward electron acceptor analytes detection, while for electron donor analytes detection, the result is opposite. [ 15 ] Thus, the insertion of another semiconductor that could both modulate the SBH and increase the adsorption energy will greatly increase the sensitivity and selectivity in a Schottky junction sensor. Graphene or reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with high charge carrier mobility, atomically thin nature and abundant adsorption sites, [16][17][18][19][20] makes the semiconductor/graphene Schottky heterojunction (Barristor) ultrasensitive for gas sensing. [ 21,22 ] Vertical silicon nanowires (SiNWs) array offers distinct merits in terms of the capability for surface functionalization and the suffi cient gaps for molecules diffusion, and SiNWs array-based sensor has been considered an ideal platform for gas sensing due to the higher signal-to-noise ratios and faster response. [ 23,24 ] The electron affi nity of TiO 2 (4.0 eV) is only a bit smaller than that of silicon (4.05 eV); [ 25 ] thus the insertion of TiO 2 into Si/rGO should be an ideal choice to support the above assertion. As a result, the SiNWs array/TiO 2 /rGO ternary junction will provide a new approach for designing ultrasensitive and selective sensors.Nitro-explosives is one of the most important categories in common explosives, and the detection of them has been a research focus due to plenty of adverse events, increasing threat of terrorism attack, and the need for homeland security. [ 1,9,26,27 ] The sensitive, selective, and rapid detection of nitro-explosives vapors is still a challenge due to the low vapor pressure of

2D hybrid perovskite ferroelectrics have drawn great attention in the field of photodetection, because the spontaneous polarization-induced built-in electric field can separate electron-hole pairs, and makes self-powered photodetection possible. However, most of the 2D hybrid perovskitebased photodetectors focused on the detection of visible light, and only a few reports realized the self-powered and sensitive ultraviolet (UV) detection using wide bandgap hybrid perovskites. Here, 2D ferroelectric PMA 2 PbCl 4 monocrystalline microbelt (MMB)-based PDs are demonstrated. By using the ferro-pyro-phototronic effect, the self-powered Ag/Bi/2D PMA 2 PbCl 4 MMB/Bi/Ag PDs show a high photoresponsivity up to 9 A/W under 320 nm laser illumination, which is much higher than those of previously reported self-powered UV PDs. Compared with responsivity induced by the photovoltaic effect, the responsivity induced by the ferro-pyro-phototronic effect is 128 times larger. The self-powered PD also shows fast response and recovery speed, with the rise time and fall time of 162 and 226 μs, respectively. More importantly, the 2D PMA 2 PbCl 4 MMB-based PDs with Bi/Ag electrode exhibit significant stability when subjected to high humidity, continuous laser illumination, and thermal conditions. Our findings would shed light on the ferro-pyro-phototronic-effect-based devices, and provide a good method for high-performance UV detection.

For the first time, flexible PVP/pyrene/APTS/rGO fluorescent nanonets were designed and synthesized via a one-step electrospinning method to detect representative subsaturated nitroaromatic explosive vapor. The functional fluorescent nanonets, which were highly stable in air, showed an 81% quenching efficiency towards TNT vapor (∼10 ppb) with an exposure time of 540 s at room temperature. The nice performance of the nanonets was ascribed to the synergistic effects induced by the specific adsorption properties of APTS, the fast charge transfer properties and the effective π-π interaction with pyrene and TNT of rGO. Compared to the analogues of TNT, the PVP/pyrene/APTS/rGO nanonets showed notable selectivity towards TNT and DNT vapors. The explored functionalization method opens up brand new insight into sensitive and selective detection of vapor phase nitroaromatic explosives.

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Pyro‐phototronic and piezo‐phototronic effect have shown their important roles for high performance heterojunction‐based photodetectors (PDs). Here, a coupling effect of pyro‐phototronic and piezo‐phototronic effect is utilized to fabricate a self‐powered and broadband PD based on the MAPbI3 single‐crystal film/n‐Si heterojunction. First, by using the pyro‐phototronic effect derived from MAPbI3, the maximum photoresponsivity of the self‐powered PD is 1.5 mA W−1 for 780 nm illumination, which is enhanced by more than 20 times in consideration of the relative peak‐to‐peak output current. Light‐induced temperature change in MAPbI3 film will create pyro‐charges distributed at heterojunction interface, resulting in a downward bending of the energy band, facilitating the transport of photon‐generated electrons and holes, and generating spike‐like output currents. Second, piezo‐phototronic effect is further introduced by applying vertical pressures onto the PD. With a vertical pressure of 155 kPa, the responsivity can be improved by more than 120% compared to the condition with no pressure. The overall enhancement is due to the piezo‐phototronic and pyro‐phototronic coupling effects which utilize the polarization charges to modulate the band structure of heterojunction. These results provide a promising approach to develop high‐performance self‐powered and broadband perovskite‐based PDs by coupling pyro‐phototronic and piezo‐phototronic effect.

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