Au-Pd modified SnS2 nanosheets for conductometric detection of xylene gas

Two-dimensional metal sulfide semiconductor materials have received a lot of attention recently due to their large surface-to-volume ratio, outstanding chemical properties, and suitable band gap, and possess the potential in the application of gas sensors. In this work, SnS2 nanosheets were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method and successfully modified with Au, Pd, and Au-Pd nanoparticles on their surfaces using reducing agents for xylene detection. The experimental results show that the gas-sensitive performance of the sensor can be significantly improved by modifying Au-Pd nanoparticles on the surface of SnS2 nanosheets, which can be attributed to the synergistic effect of the bimetal and the catalytic properties of bimetallic systems. The response of the prepared sensor is more than ten times higher than that of the pure material. In addition, the optimal operating temperature of the sensor modified by Au-Pd nanoparticles was also decreased compared to that of the sensor prepared by SnS2. The outstanding performance makes Au-Pd nanoparticles-modified SnS2 gas sensor a great potential candidate for xylene detection. •A facile method was used to obtain bimetallic-modified SnS2 semiconductor structures.•The AuPd-SnS2 gas sensor exhibited excellent xylene-sensitive properties.•The AuPd-SnS2 gas sensor showed significant selectivity for xylene and lower operating temperatures.•The discussion of the effect of the synergistic effect of Au-Pd nanoparticals on the sensing performance of xylene.