Three-Dimensional Porous Nitrogen-Doped NiO Nanostructures as Highly Sensitive NO2 Sensors

Nickel oxide has been widely used in chemical sensing applications, because it has an excellent p-type semiconducting property with high chemical stability. Here, we present a novel technique of fabricating three-dimensional porous nitrogen-doped nickel oxide nanosheets as a highly sensitive NO₂ sensor. The elaborate nanostructure was prepared by a simple and effective hydrothermal synthesis method. Subsequently, nitrogen doping was achieved by thermal treatment with ammonia gas. When the p-type dopant, i.e., nitrogen atoms, was introduced in the three-dimensional nanostructures, the nickel-oxide-nanosheet-based sensor showed considerable NO₂ sensing ability with two-fold higher responsivity and sensitivity compared to non-doped nickel-oxide-based sensors.