Mimicking a Dog’s Nose: Scrolling Graphene Nanosheets

Abstract

Inspired by the densely covered capillary structure inside a dog's nose, we report an artificial nanostructure, i. e., poly(sodium p-styrenesulfonate)-functionalized reduced graphene oxide nanoscrolls (PGNS), with high structural perfection and efficient gas sensing applications. A facile supramolecular assembly is introduced to functionalize graphene with the functional polymer, combined with the lyophilization technique to massively transform the planar graphene-based nanosheets to nanoscrolls. Detailed characterizations reveal that the bioinspired nanoscrolls exhibit a wide-open tubular morphology with uniform dimensions that is structurally distinct from the previously reported ones. The detailed morphologies of the graphene-based nanosheets in each scrolling stage during lyophilization are monitored by cryo-SEM. This unravels an asymmetric polymer-induced graphene scrolling mechanism including the corresponding scrolling process, which is directly presented by molecular dynamics simulations. The fabricated PGNS sensors exhibit superior gas sensing performance with reliable repeatability, excellent linear sensibility, and, especially, an ultrahigh response ( R/ R = 5.39, 10 ppm) toward NO. The supramolecular assembly combined with the lyophilization technique to fabricate PGNS provides a strategy to design biomimetic materials for gas sensors and chemical trace detectors.

Catalytic Metal Nanoparticles Embedded in Conductive Metal–Organic Frameworks for Chemiresistors: Highly Active and Conductive Porous Materials

“…The response values (Δ R / R 0 ) of NO 2 sensors reported in recent literatures are illustrated in Figure f, and the detailed sensing properties are summarized in Table S2 in the Supporting Information . Although the response of Pd@Cu 3 (HHTP) 2 was slightly lower than those of other materials, a significant improvement in MOF‐based sensors has been achieved in this work by combining the metal NPs with C‐MOFs.…”

Recent advances in energy-saving chemiresistive gas sensors: A review

“…Due to its excellent conductivity, high surface area, and unique 2D structure, reduced graphene (rGO) has been recognized as a promising sensing material [ 165 ]. Especially, it is used in composite form to enhance its sensing properties.…”

Functional Supramolecular Gels Based on the Hierarchical Assembly of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines

“…Some supramolecular assemblies can be used for sensing ions, gas or small organic molecules. For these applications, the interactions between sensors and target molecules could produce some special signals, such as electrical signals or fluorescence (Che et al, 2010; Wong et al, 2010; Saha et al, 2016; Chen et al, 2018). And the molecular sensing can be achieved by analyzing the changes of these signals.…”