{
  "abstract": "Semiconductor nanostructures have attracted considerable attention for developing high-performance gas sensors for the high-level detection of highly flammable and toxic gases. Herein, the present work integrates n-type WO3 with p-type Ag2O to form a p-n heterojunction by DC reactive magnetron co-sputtering technique. The CH4 sensing performance of the p-n heterojunction with Ag content is correlated with the crystalline structure, surface morphology, elemental composition, optical band gap, and chemical states of the thin film. The p-n heterojunction thin film with 3.63 at. % Ag exhibits a maximum CH4 sensitivity of 70.61 % towards 25 ppm at a low operating temperature of 75 °C. The optimised CH4 sensor also demonstrates a fast response/recovery time of 28 s/106 s with a low detection limit of 1 ppm, excellent repeatability, and long-term stability. The effectiveness of the p-n heterojunction is validated by comparing the sensing performance with that of pristine n-type WO3. Moreover, the utilisation of our optimised p-n heterojunction thin-film-based sensor is further extended towards CO, H2S, H2 and NH3 gas detection, with a detection limit of 25 ppm. This easily implementable approach to designing p-n heterojunctions could pave the way for advanced next-generation sensing technology.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Advanced Engineering",
    "UPES",
    "Department of Physics and Astrophysics",
    "University of Delhi",
    "Applied Sciences and Humanities Department",
    "Samrat Ashok Rajkiya Engineering College"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Santosh Kumar"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Archana Singh Kharb"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Amit Kumar Chawla"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Amol Singh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Subrata Ghosh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Ratnesh K Pandey",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2460-2631"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e0edr03gp8t5v.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15011049/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "e0edr03gp8t5v",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15011049/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2208|Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and Sensors"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223678867",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15011049/v1",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-26",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e0edr03gp8t5v.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:26Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15011049",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15011049/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "source:chemrxiv",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Yielding Enhanced Gas Sensing in WO3 Thin Films via p-n Heterojunction Formation",
  "title_text": "Yielding Enhanced Gas Sensing in WO3 Thin Films via p-n Heterojunction Formation",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:26Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e0edr03gp8t5v",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}