Metal oxide sensors face the challenge of high response and fast recovery at low operating temperatures for the detection of toxic and flammable hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) gases. Herein, novel In-doped ZnO with a sunflower-like structure and tunable surface properties was rationally synthesized. The substitutional In atom in the ZnO crystal can dramatically enhance the concentration of oxygen vacancies (O_v), the In–ZnO sites are responsible for fast recovery, and the formation of sub-stable sulfide intermediates gives rise to the high response towards H₂S. As a result, the response of the optimized 4In–ZnO sensor is 3538.36 to 50 ppm H₂S at a low operating temperature of 110 °C, which is 106 times higher than that of pristine ZnO. Moreover, the response time and recovery time to 50 ppm H₂S are 100 s and 27 s, respectively, with high selectivity and stability. First-principles calculations revealed that 4In–ZnO with rich O_v exhibited higher adsorption energy for the H₂S molecule than pristine ZnO, resulting in effortless H₂S detection. Our work lays the foundation for the rational design of highly sensitive gas sensors through precise doping of atoms in oxygen-rich vacancies in semiconductor materials.

中文翻译：

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基于富含氧空位的类向日葵 In 掺杂 ZnO 的超灵敏 H2S 传感器

金属氧化物传感器在检测有毒和易燃的硫化氢 (H ₂ S) 气体时面临着在低工作温度下实现高响应和快速恢复的挑战。在此，合理合成了具有向日葵状结构和可调表面性质的新型 In 掺杂 ZnO。ZnO 晶体中的取代 In 原子可以显着提高氧空位 (O _v ) 的浓度，In-ZnO 位点负责快速恢复，亚稳定硫化物中间体的形成导致对 H ₂的高响应S. 因此，优化后的 4In–ZnO 传感器的响应为 3538.36 至 50 ppm H ₂S 在 110 °C 的低工作温度下，比原始 ZnO 高 106 倍。_{此外，对 50 ppm H 2} S的响应时间和恢复时间分别为 100 s 和 27 s，具有高选择性和稳定性。第一性原理计算表明，具有丰富 Ov 的 4In-ZnO_{对H 2} S 分子表现出比原始 ZnO更高的吸附能，从而可以毫不费力地检测 H ₂ S。我们的工作通过在半导体材料的富氧空位中精确掺杂原子，为合理设计高灵敏度气体传感器奠定了基础。