Pub Date : 2025-12-02DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2025.139269
P.K. Shihabudeen , Alex Sam , Shih-Wen Chiu , Ta-Jen Yen , Kea-Tiong Tang
Niobium disulfide (NbS2), a two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide with semi metallic conductivity and high surface activity, offers promising properties for electronic and sensing applications. In this study, we report a high-performance NO2 gas sensor based on a heterostructure comprising a spin-coated In2O3 film on a semi-metallic NbS2 film. The NbS2 was synthesized via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and subsequently transferred to a substrate prior to In2O3 coating. Pristine In2O3 exhibited limited gas response, and NbS2 alone was inert to NO2; however, the NbS2/In2O3 heterostructure demonstrated a significant enhancement in sensing performance. This included a high response of 7520 % at 500 ppb and 46.5 % at 10 ppb, along with reasonable response (∼8 s) and recovery (∼155 s) times. The sensor maintained robust performance across a wide humidity range (25–90 % RH), showed excellent selectivity against interfering gases, and remained stable over one month of operation. These findings highlight the potential of semimetal/semiconductor heterojunctions for developing room-temperature gas sensors with high sensitivity and environmental stability
{"title":"Ultrasensitive room-temperature NO2 gas sensor based on In2O3/NbS2 heterojunction","authors":"P.K. Shihabudeen , Alex Sam , Shih-Wen Chiu , Ta-Jen Yen , Kea-Tiong Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139269","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139269","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Niobium disulfide (NbS<sub>2</sub>), a two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide with semi metallic conductivity and high surface activity, offers promising properties for electronic and sensing applications<strong>.</strong> In this study, we report a high-performance NO<sub>2</sub> gas sensor based on a heterostructure comprising a spin-coated In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> film on a semi-metallic NbS<sub>2</sub> film. The NbS<sub>2</sub> was synthesized via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and subsequently transferred to a substrate prior to In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> coating. Pristine In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> exhibited limited gas response, and NbS<sub>2</sub> alone was inert to NO<sub>2</sub>; however, the NbS<sub>2</sub>/In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> heterostructure demonstrated a significant enhancement in sensing performance. This included a high response of 7520 % at 500 ppb and 46.5 % at 10 ppb, along with reasonable response (∼8 s) and recovery (∼155 s) times. The sensor maintained robust performance across a wide humidity range (25–90 % RH), showed excellent selectivity against interfering gases, and remained stable over one month of operation. These findings highlight the potential of semimetal/semiconductor heterojunctions for developing room-temperature gas sensors with high sensitivity and environmental stability</div></div>","PeriodicalId":425,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical","volume":"450 ","pages":"Article 139269"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145657595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2025.139264
Yan Zeng , Yijun Lin , Jiawei Chen , Yan Sun , Peng Qi , Peng Wang
Early detection and diagnosis are essential for effectively preventing and treating complex pathogenic bacterial infections. This study presents an innovative approach for on-site, ultrasensitive pathogen detection by integrating a uniquely designed probe binding mode with novel nanomaterial structures within a lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) platform. Through a galvanic replacement reaction, gold is non-uniformly deposited onto a silver core, resulting in the formation of Ag@pore-Au structures. The abundant nanopores and porous surface of these structures create a high density of "hot spots", significantly enhancing their surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance. We systematically characterized the SERS and detection capabilities of the synthesized Ag@pore-Au Raman-dye micron particles (MPs) probe. The results conclusively demonstrated that this structural probe exhibits a robust SERS signal, paving the way for its successful application in LFIA. By integrating the Ag@pore-Au Raman-dye MPs probe into the LFIA platform, we achieved rapid, quantitative detection of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. This enhanced platform overcomes the limitations of traditional LFIA, notably its high detection limit of 10 CFU/mL and its inability to provide quantitative results. Furthermore, a dual-channel detection mode enabled the simultaneous and specific identification of both bacterial strains. The platform's efficacy was validated through successful detection in real sample matrices. This research offers novel insights and methodologies for pathogen detection in the medical field, providing an effective solution for on-site pathogen diagnosis and real-time environmental monitoring.
{"title":"Dual detection of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus via lateral flow immunoassay sensor utilizing porous surface Ag@Au micron particles","authors":"Yan Zeng , Yijun Lin , Jiawei Chen , Yan Sun , Peng Qi , Peng Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139264","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139264","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Early detection and diagnosis are essential for effectively preventing and treating complex pathogenic bacterial infections. This study presents an innovative approach for on-site, ultrasensitive pathogen detection by integrating a uniquely designed probe binding mode with novel nanomaterial structures within a lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) platform. Through a galvanic replacement reaction, gold is non-uniformly deposited onto a silver core, resulting in the formation of Ag@pore-Au structures. The abundant nanopores and porous surface of these structures create a high density of \"hot spots\", significantly enhancing their surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance. We systematically characterized the SERS and detection capabilities of the synthesized Ag@pore-Au <sup>Raman-dye</sup> micron particles (MPs) probe. The results conclusively demonstrated that this structural probe exhibits a robust SERS signal, paving the way for its successful application in LFIA. By integrating the Ag@pore-Au <sup>Raman-dye</sup> MPs probe into the LFIA platform, we achieved rapid, quantitative detection of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. This enhanced platform overcomes the limitations of traditional LFIA, notably its high detection limit of 10 CFU/mL and its inability to provide quantitative results. Furthermore, a dual-channel detection mode enabled the simultaneous and specific identification of both bacterial strains. The platform's efficacy was validated through successful detection in real sample matrices. This research offers novel insights and methodologies for pathogen detection in the medical field, providing an effective solution for on-site pathogen diagnosis and real-time environmental monitoring.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":425,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical","volume":"450 ","pages":"Article 139264"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145651448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2025.139261
Sufang Ma , Leyan Li , Bolong Ma , Qi Gao , Yubing Kang , Wenli Cui , Jianfei Liu , Yixin Zhang , Qiang Yu , Zexuan Hong , Yanli Li , Junhong Guo , Kahleong Lim , Chengwu Zhang
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, which remains incurable partially due to the delayed diagnosis. Developing facile diagnostic tools toward PD is highly demanding but unmet. Polarity is one crucial microenvironment parameter associated with multiple pathophysiological processes, which is often altered in diseases including PD. Detection of polarity holds potential to serve as one alternative strategy of diagnosis of PD. In present study, we de novo developed one NIR probe (CN) to detect both lipid droplets (LDs) and serum polarity, and validated its application in multiple PD models and patients derived samples. CN exhibits NIR emission (λem = 713 nm), high fluorescence quantum yield (φ = 21.89 %), and large Stokes shift (193 nm), which collectively conferred its excellent tissue penetration and photostability for fluorescence imaging applications. Utilizing CN, we successfully tracked LDs accumulation across species PD models, including neuronal cells, Drosophila, C. elegans, and mice. More importantly, CN demonstrated the ability to distinguish PD by detecting serum polarity of mice, macaques as well as humans with fluorescence intensity as the indicator. Present study highlights the potential of CN as a diagnostic tool for PD by leveraging detection LDs and polarity of serum. CN is, so far as we know, the first probe applicable for serum polarity based PD diagnosis, and it opens avenue for developing novel diagnostic strategy based on disease associated physiochemical features.
{"title":"De novo developing polarity-sensitive NIR probe for lipid droplets and serum based diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease","authors":"Sufang Ma , Leyan Li , Bolong Ma , Qi Gao , Yubing Kang , Wenli Cui , Jianfei Liu , Yixin Zhang , Qiang Yu , Zexuan Hong , Yanli Li , Junhong Guo , Kahleong Lim , Chengwu Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139261","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139261","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, which remains incurable partially due to the delayed diagnosis. Developing facile diagnostic tools toward PD is highly demanding but unmet. Polarity is one crucial microenvironment parameter associated with multiple pathophysiological processes, which is often altered in diseases including PD. Detection of polarity holds potential to serve as one alternative strategy of diagnosis of PD. In present study, we de novo developed one NIR probe (<strong>CN</strong>) to detect both lipid droplets (LDs) and serum polarity, and validated its application in multiple PD models and patients derived samples. <strong>CN</strong> exhibits NIR emission (λ<sub>em</sub> = 713 nm), high fluorescence quantum yield (φ = 21.89 %), and large Stokes shift (193 nm), which collectively conferred its excellent tissue penetration and photostability for fluorescence imaging applications. Utilizing <strong>CN</strong>, we successfully tracked LDs accumulation across species PD models, including neuronal cells, Drosophila, <em>C. elegans</em>, and mice. More importantly, <strong>CN</strong> demonstrated the ability to distinguish PD by detecting serum polarity of mice, macaques as well as humans with fluorescence intensity as the indicator. Present study highlights the potential of <strong>CN</strong> as a diagnostic tool for PD by leveraging detection LDs and polarity of serum. <strong>CN</strong> is, so far as we know, the first probe applicable for serum polarity based PD diagnosis, and it opens avenue for developing novel diagnostic strategy based on disease associated physiochemical features.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":425,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical","volume":"450 ","pages":"Article 139261"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145650984","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2025.139256
Yiming Yang , Chengxi Zhu , Na Dong , Shuda Liu , Shuyun Meng , Wenjia Li , Dong Liu , Tianyan You
Instability of DNA conformation and its restricted range of conformational change at electrode interface depress stability and sensitivity of biosensing. Herein, a DNAzyme-mediated ratiometric electrochemical aptasensor is developed by engineering rigid triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO) structure for microcystin-LR (MC-LR) detection. To enhance rigidity and stability of single-stranded DNA, a TFO structure is engineered by anchoring methylene blue-labelled single-stranded DNA (MB-ssDNA) to the double-stranded region of ferrocene (Fc)-labelled hairpin DNA. Rigid TFO structure could stabilize MB-ssDNA and output stable Fc reference signal. TFO assembled by one-step method offers high assembly efficiency and enhanced signal response. MB-ssDNA is inserted into ribonucleotide (rA) and DNAzyme-mediated signal amplification is adopted. In the presence of MC-LR and Mg2 + , DNAzyme is released to cleave rA sites, causing MB probe off from electrode and thus reducing the current of MB (IMB). Using current of Fc (IFc) as reference, their ratio of IMB/IFc acts as a yardstick for MC-LR detection. Consequently, the aptasensor exhibits a linear range of 0.01–100 ng mL−1 and a low detection limit of 0.229 pg mL−1. This strategy offers a new way to fabricate high-performance sensors with TFO structure.
DNA构象的不稳定性及其在电极界面上有限的构象变化范围降低了生物传感的稳定性和灵敏度。本文通过工程刚性三聚体形成寡核苷酸（TFO）结构，开发了一种dnazyme介导的比例电化学感应传感器，用于微囊藻毒素lr （MC-LR）的检测。为了提高单链DNA的刚性和稳定性，通过将亚甲基蓝标记的单链DNA （MB-ssDNA）锚定在二茂铁标记的发夹DNA的双链区域来设计TFO结构。刚性TFO结构可以稳定MB-ssDNA，输出稳定的Fc参考信号。一步法装配TFO具有装配效率高、信号响应能力强的优点。将MB-ssDNA插入核糖核苷酸（rA）中，采用dnazyme介导的信号扩增。在MC-LR和Mg2 +存在的情况下，DNAzyme被释放裂解rA位点，使MB探针脱离电极，从而降低MB电流（IMB）。以Fc （IFc）电流为参考，它们的IMB/IFc比值作为MC-LR检测的尺度。因此，该传感器具有0.01-100 ng mL−1的线性范围和0.229 pg mL−1的低检出限。该策略为制造高性能TFO结构传感器提供了一条新途径。
{"title":"Engineering rigid triplex-forming oligonucleotide structure for DNAzyme-mediated ratiometric electrochemical biosensing of microcystin-LR","authors":"Yiming Yang , Chengxi Zhu , Na Dong , Shuda Liu , Shuyun Meng , Wenjia Li , Dong Liu , Tianyan You","doi":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139256","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139256","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Instability of DNA conformation and its restricted range of conformational change at electrode interface depress stability and sensitivity of biosensing. Herein, a DNAzyme-mediated ratiometric electrochemical aptasensor is developed by engineering rigid triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO) structure for microcystin-LR (MC-LR) detection. To enhance rigidity and stability of single-stranded DNA, a TFO structure is engineered by anchoring methylene blue-labelled single-stranded DNA (MB-ssDNA) to the double-stranded region of ferrocene (Fc)-labelled hairpin DNA. Rigid TFO structure could stabilize MB-ssDNA and output stable Fc reference signal. TFO assembled by one-step method offers high assembly efficiency and enhanced signal response. MB-ssDNA is inserted into ribonucleotide (rA) and DNAzyme-mediated signal amplification is adopted. In the presence of MC-LR and Mg<sup>2 +</sup> , DNAzyme is released to cleave rA sites, causing MB probe off from electrode and thus reducing the current of MB (I<sub>MB</sub>). Using current of Fc (I<sub>Fc</sub>) as reference, their ratio of I<sub>MB</sub>/I<sub>Fc</sub> acts as a yardstick for MC-LR detection. Consequently, the aptasensor exhibits a linear range of 0.01–100 ng mL<sup>−1</sup> and a low detection limit of 0.229 pg mL<sup>−1</sup>. This strategy offers a new way to fabricate high-performance sensors with TFO structure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":425,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical","volume":"450 ","pages":"Article 139256"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145651474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Accurate calibration of gas sensors is essential but hindered by significant sensor-to-sensor variability. This variability creates a classic domain shift, demanding efficient few-shot supervised domain adaptation strategies for new devices. In this work, we propose a robust, attention-enhanced deep transfer learning framework to address this challenge. Our methodology adopts a pre-training/fine-tuning paradigm, where a model trained on a large source domain (old sensors) is adapted to a new target domain (new sensor) using only a few labeled samples. The framework integrates a Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE)-style attention mechanism to dynamically focus on the most informative signal segments. Crucially, we introduce an entropy-based regularization term to the attention weights. As demonstrated through experiments, this key innovation not only improves predictive accuracy but also significantly enhances the model’s stability and robustness in the few-shot regime. Comprehensive benchmarking demonstrates that our framework significantly outperforms a wide array of baselines, including traditional machine learning (SVR, RFR), classical calibration transfer (DS, PDS), advanced meta-learning (MAML), and state-of-the-art domain adaptation (DANN) methods. The proposed model achieves superior Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and stability, highlighting its effectiveness and practical potential for real-world industrial sensor calibration.
{"title":"An attention-enhanced deep transfer learning method for few-shot calibration of semiconductor gas sensors","authors":"Jingfeng Li , Zhenyu Yuan , Zhongming Guo , Fanli Meng","doi":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139255","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139255","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate calibration of gas sensors is essential but hindered by significant sensor-to-sensor variability. This variability creates a classic domain shift, demanding efficient few-shot supervised domain adaptation strategies for new devices. In this work, we propose a robust, attention-enhanced deep transfer learning framework to address this challenge. Our methodology adopts a pre-training/fine-tuning paradigm, where a model trained on a large source domain (old sensors) is adapted to a new target domain (new sensor) using only a few labeled samples. The framework integrates a Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE)-style attention mechanism to dynamically focus on the most informative signal segments. Crucially, we introduce an entropy-based regularization term to the attention weights. As demonstrated through experiments, this key innovation not only improves predictive accuracy but also significantly enhances the model’s stability and robustness in the few-shot regime. Comprehensive benchmarking demonstrates that our framework significantly outperforms a wide array of baselines, including traditional machine learning (SVR, RFR), classical calibration transfer (DS, PDS), advanced meta-learning (MAML), and state-of-the-art domain adaptation (DANN) methods. The proposed model achieves superior Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and stability, highlighting its effectiveness and practical potential for real-world industrial sensor calibration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":425,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical","volume":"450 ","pages":"Article 139255"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145657599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2025.139263
Chenggang Zhang , Meng Wang , Yi Li , Miao Yu , Jie Zhang , Ye Sun
Rapid pathogen typing is essential for precise antimicrobial therapy; however, conventional methods are time-consuming. Although surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) provides quick detection, current methods rely on expensive recognition molecules or suffer from weak signals due to electrostatic repulsion-induced inefficient SERS-active nanoparticle adsorption with bacterial surfaces. Herein, we present a bioreceptor-free AI-powered SERS biosensing strategy for rapid and accurate pathogen typing. Through protonation under acidic conditions, the method regulates bacterial surface charge to overcome electrostatic repulsion between bacteria and SERS nanoparticles. It maintains bacterial viability and allows rapid in situ assembly of the SERS-active platform directly on bacterial surfaces, thereby preserving pathogen integrity, improving detection reliability, and significantly enhancing Raman signals. Integrated with machine learning, it delivers 99 % accuracy in typing three common bacterial meningitis pathogens, accompanied by a perfect AUC–ROC value of 1.0. The entire process, including sample pretreatment, surface charge modulation plus nanoparticle adsorption, SERS acquisition, and machine-learning typing, is completed in as little as 15 min. Cost-effective and user-friendly, this method eliminates the need for bioreceptors and complex processing, demonstrates robust performance in clinical samples, and shows broad applicability in public health, food safety, environmental monitoring, and emergency diagnostics.
{"title":"Rapid meningitis pathogen typing via bioreceptor-free AI-SERS based on bacterial surface charge regulation","authors":"Chenggang Zhang , Meng Wang , Yi Li , Miao Yu , Jie Zhang , Ye Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139263","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139263","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rapid pathogen typing is essential for precise antimicrobial therapy; however, conventional methods are time-consuming. Although surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) provides quick detection, current methods rely on expensive recognition molecules or suffer from weak signals due to electrostatic repulsion-induced inefficient SERS-active nanoparticle adsorption with bacterial surfaces. Herein, we present a bioreceptor-free AI-powered SERS biosensing strategy for rapid and accurate pathogen typing. Through protonation under acidic conditions, the method regulates bacterial surface charge to overcome electrostatic repulsion between bacteria and SERS nanoparticles. It maintains bacterial viability and allows rapid <em>in situ</em> assembly of the SERS-active platform directly on bacterial surfaces, thereby preserving pathogen integrity, improving detection reliability, and significantly enhancing Raman signals. Integrated with machine learning, it delivers 99 % accuracy in typing three common bacterial meningitis pathogens, accompanied by a perfect AUC–ROC value of 1.0. The entire process, including sample pretreatment, surface charge modulation plus nanoparticle adsorption, SERS acquisition, and machine-learning typing, is completed in as little as 15 min. Cost-effective and user-friendly, this method eliminates the need for bioreceptors and complex processing, demonstrates robust performance in clinical samples, and shows broad applicability in public health, food safety, environmental monitoring, and emergency diagnostics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":425,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical","volume":"450 ","pages":"Article 139263"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145651449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-30DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2025.139251
Yajun Zhao , Yanwei Li , Xuping Li , Qianxi Wang , Guang Sun , Jianliang Cao , Yan Wang
Herein, we propose a ZnO and Pt co-modification strategy to boost the NO2 sensing performance of SnO2. Specifically, a ternary Pt/ZnO/SnO2 composite was prepared by sequentially decorating ZnO and Pt nanoparticles onto a porous nanorod-assembled hierarchical structure (PNRHS) of SnO2. The resulting Pt/ZnO/SnO2 composites were characterized using various techniques, and their sensing properties to NO2 were investigated. The results reveal that after co-modification with ZnO and Pt, the SnO2 sensor exhibits remarkable performance enhancements in detecting sub-ppm-level NO2, including significantly improved sensitivity, superior gas discrimination capability, and accelerated response kinetics. At its optimal working temperature of 140 °C, the optimized Pt/ZnO/SnO2 sensor demonstrates a response of 105.6–1 ppm NO2, approximately 42.2, 7.4, and 7.9 times than that of the pure SnO2 (2.5 at 120 °C), ZnO/SnO2 (14.3 at 150 °C), and Pt/SnO2 (13.3 at 140 °C) sensors, respectively. The enhanced NO2 sensitivity of the ternary Pt/ZnO/SnO2 composite sensor is attributed to the synergistic sensitization effects of the ZnO and Pt modifiers, whose underlying mechanisms are discussed.
{"title":"Co-modification of ZnO and Pt nanoparticles on porous nanorod-assembled SnO2 hierarchical structure for highly sensitive and selective detection of sub-ppm-level NO2","authors":"Yajun Zhao , Yanwei Li , Xuping Li , Qianxi Wang , Guang Sun , Jianliang Cao , Yan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139251","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139251","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Herein, we propose a ZnO and Pt co-modification strategy to boost the NO<sub>2</sub> sensing performance of SnO<sub>2</sub>. Specifically, a ternary Pt/ZnO/SnO<sub>2</sub> composite was prepared by sequentially decorating ZnO and Pt nanoparticles onto a porous nanorod-assembled hierarchical structure (PNRHS) of SnO<sub>2</sub>. The resulting Pt/ZnO/SnO<sub>2</sub> composites were characterized using various techniques, and their sensing properties to NO<sub>2</sub> were investigated. The results reveal that after co-modification with ZnO and Pt, the SnO<sub>2</sub> sensor exhibits remarkable performance enhancements in detecting sub-ppm-level NO<sub>2</sub>, including significantly improved sensitivity, superior gas discrimination capability, and accelerated response kinetics. At its optimal working temperature of 140 °C, the optimized Pt/ZnO/SnO<sub>2</sub> sensor demonstrates a response of 105.6–1 ppm NO<sub>2</sub>, approximately 42.2, 7.4, and 7.9 times than that of the pure SnO<sub>2</sub> (2.5 at 120 °C), ZnO/SnO<sub>2</sub> (14.3 at 150 °C), and Pt/SnO<sub>2</sub> (13.3 at 140 °C) sensors, respectively. The enhanced NO<sub>2</sub> sensitivity of the ternary Pt/ZnO/SnO<sub>2</sub> composite sensor is attributed to the synergistic sensitization effects of the ZnO and Pt modifiers, whose underlying mechanisms are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":425,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical","volume":"450 ","pages":"Article 139251"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145619401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-30DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2025.139253
Lingling Long, Fang-Ying Wu, Pengcheng Huang
The analysis of breath acetone could be a potential non-invasive testing alternative for routine blood-based diabetic diagnosis. However, existing methods for detecting acetone are limited by some drawbacks including complex operation, low accuracy and strong interferences from other substances in exhaled breath. Herein, we presented a straightforward ratiometric fluorescence strategy for highly efficient detection of acetone in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) based on surface-confined FRET on carbon dots (CDs). In this sensing platform, the introduction of acetone triggered specific condensation reaction with abundant phenolic hydroxyl groups around the CDs; and concurrently, the in-situ generated product constituted another emitting center by absorbing the excitation energy of the CDs, which enabled visual detection according to a remarkable fluorescence color change from blue to yellowish green. Importantly, the presented probe exhibited a highly sensitive response to acetone, a good self-calibration capability, as well as excellent selectivity against common species in EBC. Finally, it was demonstrated to be applied for accurate evaluation of the acetone content in simulated diabetic EBC samples, indicating the possibility in preliminary screening and assessment of diabetes by non-invasive breath analysis.
{"title":"Target-triggered surface-confined FRET on carbon dots for ratiometric fluorescence detection of acetone in exhaled breath condensate","authors":"Lingling Long, Fang-Ying Wu, Pengcheng Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139253","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139253","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The analysis of breath acetone could be a potential non-invasive testing alternative for routine blood-based diabetic diagnosis. However, existing methods for detecting acetone are limited by some drawbacks including complex operation, low accuracy and strong interferences from other substances in exhaled breath. Herein, we presented a straightforward ratiometric fluorescence strategy for highly efficient detection of acetone in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) based on surface-confined FRET on carbon dots (CDs). In this sensing platform, the introduction of acetone triggered specific condensation reaction with abundant phenolic hydroxyl groups around the CDs; and concurrently, the in-situ generated product constituted another emitting center by absorbing the excitation energy of the CDs, which enabled visual detection according to a remarkable fluorescence color change from blue to yellowish green. Importantly, the presented probe exhibited a highly sensitive response to acetone, a good self-calibration capability, as well as excellent selectivity against common species in EBC. Finally, it was demonstrated to be applied for accurate evaluation of the acetone content in simulated diabetic EBC samples, indicating the possibility in preliminary screening and assessment of diabetes by non-invasive breath analysis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":425,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical","volume":"450 ","pages":"Article 139253"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145619403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-29DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2025.139240
Zihan Li , Haodong Zhu , Yan Wang , Peng Chen , Zhenyu Yang , Hongbin Yu
A novel fiber-tip Fabry-Pérot interferometer (FPI) sensor is proposed for high-sensitivity salinity measurement with low temperature crosstalk. It consists of two cascaded spherical FPIs fabricated directly at the tip of a single-mode fiber (SMF) by two-photon polymerization technology. One is an open sensing cavity that allows free entry of saline solution, the other is a solid reference cavity made of photoresist material. The spherical reflective surface is designed to effectively converge the divergent light beam from SMF, significantly enhancing energy coupling efficiency and spectral contrast compared to conventional planar counterparts. Through utilizing the optical Vernier effect (OVE), the salinity sensitivity amplification can be achieved. At the same time, the thermal effect can be well balanced via elaborate cavity length design, realizing temperature self-compensation for the overall sensor. Experimental results demonstrate that the as-fabricated salinity sensor can successfully provide salinity measurement sensitivity as high as −3.199 nm/‰ with excellent linearity (R² = 0.9987). Notably, the sensor also exhibits extremely low temperature crosstalk of only 0.021 nm/°C across a wide temperature range from 20°C to 80°C, significantly lower than that of the state of the art. Moreover, good measurement repeatability and stability have been validated, with wavelength drift less than 0.08 nm during 50 min of continuous monitoring. Considering the high sensitivity, excellent temperature stability, compact structure, and electromagnetic interference immunity advantages, this sensor is ideal for precise salinity detection in applications with significant temperature fluctuations, such as marine monitoring or saline chemical industries.
{"title":"Fiber-tip integrated dual-cavity cascaded spherical Fabry-Pérot interferometer salinity sensor with high sensitivity and low temperature crosstalk","authors":"Zihan Li , Haodong Zhu , Yan Wang , Peng Chen , Zhenyu Yang , Hongbin Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139240","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139240","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A novel fiber-tip Fabry-Pérot interferometer (FPI) sensor is proposed for high-sensitivity salinity measurement with low temperature crosstalk. It consists of two cascaded spherical FPIs fabricated directly at the tip of a single-mode fiber (SMF) by two-photon polymerization technology. One is an open sensing cavity that allows free entry of saline solution, the other is a solid reference cavity made of photoresist material. The spherical reflective surface is designed to effectively converge the divergent light beam from SMF, significantly enhancing energy coupling efficiency and spectral contrast compared to conventional planar counterparts. Through utilizing the optical Vernier effect (OVE), the salinity sensitivity amplification can be achieved. At the same time, the thermal effect can be well balanced via elaborate cavity length design, realizing temperature self-compensation for the overall sensor. Experimental results demonstrate that the as-fabricated salinity sensor can successfully provide salinity measurement sensitivity as high as −3.199 nm/‰ with excellent linearity (R² = 0.9987). Notably, the sensor also exhibits extremely low temperature crosstalk of only 0.021 nm/°C across a wide temperature range from 20°C to 80°C, significantly lower than that of the state of the art. Moreover, good measurement repeatability and stability have been validated, with wavelength drift less than 0.08 nm during 50 min of continuous monitoring. Considering the high sensitivity, excellent temperature stability, compact structure, and electromagnetic interference immunity advantages, this sensor is ideal for precise salinity detection in applications with significant temperature fluctuations, such as marine monitoring or saline chemical industries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":425,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical","volume":"450 ","pages":"Article 139240"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145619404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-29DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2025.139250
Chaohan Han , Wanying Cheng , Xiaowei Li , Jiayu Xin , Haipeng Dong , Yu Liu , Huijing Yang , Xinghua Li , Changlu Shao , Yichun Liu
Visible-light-activated metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensors have great potential for room-temperature gas detection, but their performance is often limited by insufficient light absorption and rapid charge carrier recombination. In this work, we present a hierarchical heterostructure design that integrates one-dimensional (1D) In2O3 nanofibers integrated with two-dimensional (2D) In2S3 nanosheets to enhance NO2 detection performance. The combination of wide-bandgap 1D In2O3 and narrow-bandgap 2D In2S3 not only extends the visible-light absorption range but also effectively suppresses the recombination of photogenerated carriers, thereby enabling efficient charge separation. This synergistic effect enhances the surface density of photogenerated charge, which is crucial for improving NO2 adsorption and detection performance. The optimized sensor demonstrates excellent room-temperature NO2 sensing performance under visible-light illumination, achieving a high response (Rg/Ra = 6.5) to 1 ppm NO2, a 4.6-fold improvement compared to pure In2O3 nanofibers. Additionally, the sensor exhibits a low detection limit of 50 ppb and outstanding long-term stability. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the adsorption energy for NO2 molecules at the heterointerface is −2.09 eV, which is higher than that at the individual components. Furthermore, in-situ gas-phase NO2 concentration monitoring confirmed that the hierarchical heterostructures significantly enhance NO2 adsorption under visible light illumination, a finding further corroborated by the data obtained from the temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) analyzer. This work presents an innovative strategy for designing MOS-based heterostructures, providing a promising platform for high-performance visible-light-activated gas sensors.
{"title":"Hierarchical In2O3/In2S3 heterostructure nanofibers with enhanced visible-light absorption and efficient charge separation for high-performance room-temperature NO2 detection","authors":"Chaohan Han , Wanying Cheng , Xiaowei Li , Jiayu Xin , Haipeng Dong , Yu Liu , Huijing Yang , Xinghua Li , Changlu Shao , Yichun Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139250","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.snb.2025.139250","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Visible-light-activated metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensors have great potential for room-temperature gas detection, but their performance is often limited by insufficient light absorption and rapid charge carrier recombination. In this work, we present a hierarchical heterostructure design that integrates one-dimensional (1D) In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> nanofibers integrated with two-dimensional (2D) In<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> nanosheets to enhance NO<sub>2</sub> detection performance. The combination of wide-bandgap 1D In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> and narrow-bandgap 2D In<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> not only extends the visible-light absorption range but also effectively suppresses the recombination of photogenerated carriers, thereby enabling efficient charge separation. This synergistic effect enhances the surface density of photogenerated charge, which is crucial for improving NO<sub>2</sub> adsorption and detection performance. The optimized sensor demonstrates excellent room-temperature NO<sub>2</sub> sensing performance under visible-light illumination, achieving a high response (Rg/Ra = 6.5) to 1 ppm NO<sub>2</sub>, a 4.6-fold improvement compared to pure In<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> nanofibers. Additionally, the sensor exhibits a low detection limit of 50 ppb and outstanding long-term stability. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the adsorption energy for NO<sub>2</sub> molecules at the heterointerface is −2.09 eV, which is higher than that at the individual components. Furthermore, in-situ gas-phase NO<sub>2</sub> concentration monitoring confirmed that the hierarchical heterostructures significantly enhance NO<sub>2</sub> adsorption under visible light illumination, a finding further corroborated by the data obtained from the temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) analyzer. This work presents an innovative strategy for designing MOS-based heterostructures, providing a promising platform for high-performance visible-light-activated gas sensors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":425,"journal":{"name":"Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical","volume":"450 ","pages":"Article 139250"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145613968","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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