Chemically sprayed pristine and Cd 2+ incorporated Co2SnO4 thin films for low ppm level enhanced chemi - resistive behaviour towards dimethylamine detection at room temperature

The surge in hazardous volatile organic liquid emissions driven by the rapid growth of the manufacturing industry has compelled a rising demand for gas sensors, which exhibit remarkable sensitivity, selectivity, and room temperature operation. Ternary metal oxide spinel has indeed garnered significant attention in chemi-resistive gas sensors due to their large reactive surface area, physicochemical, and other unique properties. In this work, we have studied chemically sprayed pristine and Cd 2+ incorporated Co2SnO4 thin film as a sensing layer under room temperature (300 K) conditions. The 5 wt% Cd 2+ incorporated Co2SnO4 films unveiled a high sensor response to dimethylamine (DMA) gas (S = Igas/Iair = 6153 at 1 ppm), which was boosted by 8.89-fold times compared to pristine Co2SnO4 film, due to the large reactive surface area and enhanced defective oxygen vacancies. It has superior selectivity towards DMA gas, good response time (154 s) / recovery time (90 s), superior pro-longevity (S = 6138) after 60 days, stable repeatability (7 cycles), excellent cross-selectivity, and relative humid resistance at 300 K. This research work provides insights on Cd 2+ incorporated Co2SnO4 thin films and their feasibility in real-time gas sensing devices. [Display omitted] •An Excellent DMA sensor constructed by integrating Cd 2+ ions in Co2SnO4 thin films.•5 wt% Cd - CTO film shows sensor response (S = 6153 @ 1 ppm) to DMA gas at 300 K.•The Large surface area and oxygen vacancies facilitate the highest sensor response.•The DMA sensor also shows an excellent cross-selectivity and fast responsiveness.