Electronic structure-dependent formaldehyde gas sensing performance of the In2O3/Co3O4 core/shell hierarchical heterostructure sensors.

• In 2 O 3 /Co 3 O 4 hierarchical heterostructures are fabricated by a facile method. • In 2 O 3 /Co 3 O 4 exhibits excellent formaldehyde gas sensing properties. • Enhanced formaldehyde property is ascribed to the variation of electronic structure. • The change of electronic structure originates from the formation of p-n junction. Constructing p-n heterojunction is considered as an effective approach to improve gas-sensing performance of nanomaterials, and the general focus is that the formation of a p-n junction can effectively broaden the electron-depletion layer, enhancing the amount of the adsorption oxygen, and being beneficial to the improvement of the gas-sensing performance. However the widening of the depletion layer can only contribute to the improvement of the sensitivity, the effect of p-n junction on other sensing parameters is still not well understood. Herein, the In 2 O 3 /Co 3 O 4 core/shell hierarchical heterostructures (In 2 O 3 /Co 3 O 4 HHS) are investigated to discern how p-n junction alters the sensing process. The construction of p-n junction can effectively adjust Fermi level, influence the oxidation ability of the adsorbed oxygen and significantly heighten the selectivity of sensing materials, resulting in superior sensing activity. Especially, In 2 O 3 /Co 3 O 4 HHS exhibits obviously enhanced gas sensing performance toward formaldehyde at 180 °C with high response and good selectivity. Our findings promote the recognition of the important role of electronic structure on gas sensing performance and provide a new strategy to design sensing materials for gas detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]