A new study has revealed the critical role of van der Waals interactions in preventing catalyst deactivation during aldehyde gas sensing on ZnO nanowire sensors. The research focuses on the interaction between hydrophobic alkyl chains and hydrophilic ZnO surfaces, demonstrating that these interactions significantly reduce the poisoning of catalytic sites. By immobilizing octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA) on ZnO sensors, the team achieved faster recovery times for nonanal detection, without compromising sensitivity.
Temperature-programmed measurements showed a remarkable reduction in desorption temperatures of carboxylates on ODPA-modified ZnO, from over 300°C to below 150°C, leading to decreased catalyst deactivation. Theoretical calculations and spectroscopic analysis confirmed that van der Waals forces between the alkyl chains and ZnO surface improve adsorption kinetics. This discovery opens up new possibilities for enhancing gas sensors used in healthcare, environmental monitoring, and food management, while also providing insights that can be applied to the design of heterogeneous catalysts.
Papers
Journal: Nature Communications
Title: Van der Waals Interactions Between Non-polar Alkyl Chains and Polar Oxide Surfaces Prevent Catalyst Deactivation in Aldehyde Gas Sensing
Authors: Kentaro Nakamura, Tsunaki Takahashi*, Takuro Hosomi, Wataru Tanaka, Yu Yamaguchi, Jiangyang Liu, Masaki Kanai, Yuta Tsuji, and Takeshi Yanagida*
Structure-guided design enables development of a hyperpolarized molecular probe for the detection of aminopeptidase N activity in vivo
Design of an ultra-sensitive and miniaturized diamond NV magnetometer based on a nanocavity structure
