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Nano Research 2014, 7(7): 945-952 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0454-7
Research Article | Issue | Published: 04 June 2014

Silicene nanoribbons as carbon monoxide nanosensors with molecular resolution

Show Author's Information Tim H. Osborn,  Amir A. Farajian( )
Department of Mechanical and Materials EngineeringWright State UniversityDaytonOhio45435USA
Keywords:
carbon monoxide, silicone, silicon nanoribbon, nanosensor, quantum transport, contacts, ab initio simulations
Cite this article:
Osborn TH, Farajian AA. Silicene nanoribbons as carbon monoxide nanosensors with molecular resolution. Nano Research, 2014, 7(7): 945-952. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0454-7
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Abstract Full text About this article

Applications based on silicene as grown on substrates are of high interest toward actual utilization of this unique material. Here we explore, from first principles, the nature of carbon monoxide adsorption on semiconducting silicene nanoribbons and the resulting quantum conduction modulation with and without silver contacts for sensing applications. We find that quantum conduction is detectably modified by weak chemisorption of a single CO molecule on a pristine silicene nanoribbon. This modification can be attributed to the charge transfer from CO to the silicene nanoribbon and the deformation induced by the CO chemisorption. Moderate binding energies provide an optimal mix of high detectability and recoverability. With Ag contacts attached to a ~1 nm silicene nanoribbon, the interface states mask the conductance modulations caused by CO adsorption, emphasizing length effects for sensor applications. The effects of atmospheric gases—nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water—as well as CO adsorption density and edge-dangling bond defects, on sensor functionality are also investigated. Our results reveal pristine silicene nanoribbons as a promising new sensing material with single molecule resolution.


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About this article

Silicene nanoribbons as carbon monoxide nanosensors with molecular resolution

Show Author's information Tim H. Osborn, Amir A. Farajian( )
Department of Mechanical and Materials EngineeringWright State UniversityDaytonOhio45435USA

Abstract

Applications based on silicene as grown on substrates are of high interest toward actual utilization of this unique material. Here we explore, from first principles, the nature of carbon monoxide adsorption on semiconducting silicene nanoribbons and the resulting quantum conduction modulation with and without silver contacts for sensing applications. We find that quantum conduction is detectably modified by weak chemisorption of a single CO molecule on a pristine silicene nanoribbon. This modification can be attributed to the charge transfer from CO to the silicene nanoribbon and the deformation induced by the CO chemisorption. Moderate binding energies provide an optimal mix of high detectability and recoverability. With Ag contacts attached to a ~1 nm silicene nanoribbon, the interface states mask the conductance modulations caused by CO adsorption, emphasizing length effects for sensor applications. The effects of atmospheric gases—nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water—as well as CO adsorption density and edge-dangling bond defects, on sensor functionality are also investigated. Our results reveal pristine silicene nanoribbons as a promising new sensing material with single molecule resolution.

Keywords: carbon monoxide, silicone, silicon nanoribbon, nanosensor, quantum transport, contacts, ab initio simulations

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Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 29 December 2013
Revised: 02 March 2014
Accepted: 16 March 2014
Published: 04 June 2014
Issue date: July 2014

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation grant ECCS-0925939.

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