SAIP2026

Synergistic Charge Transport and Defect Chemistry in SrTiO3/Ti3C2Tx MXene Composites for Low Temperature Toluene Sensing.

8 Jul 2026, 16:20

1h 20m

Great Hall ( University of the Western Cape)

Poster Presentation Track A - Physics of Condensed Matter and Materials Poster Session 2

Speaker

Nkosikhona Dlamini (University of the free state)

Description

Detecting harmful aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as toluene remains a major environmental and safety concern. In this work, SrTiO3 and SrTiO3/Ti3C2Tx MXene composite structures were prepared through a hydrothermal synthesis method, while Ti3C2Tx MXene was synthesized through the LiF-HCl etching. Detailed investigations were conducted to evaluate the structural and optical characteristics, defect states, and their gas-sensing behavior. Gas sensing measurements revealed that the SrTiO3/Ti3C2Tx MXene composite was more favored and had a response ratio of 100.28 % towards 100 ppm toluene vapor at a lower operative temperature of 50 °C. This improvement results from a combination of enhanced defect assisted oxygen adsorption and efficient electron transfer through the Ti3C2Tx MXene layers. Overall, the study highlights SrTiO3/Ti3C2Tx MXene heterostructures as strong candidates for ye detecting aromatic VOCs.