Portable Gas sensors based on 2D-materials for DMMP detection

The internship and the PhD will be carried out jointly between two laboratories: LPICM – École Polytechnique and IMSE – Université Gustave Eiffel (UGE).

Chemical warfare agents (CWAs), particularly nerve agents like sarin, are extremely toxic and dangerous to humans. The nerve agent sarin, for example, causes death within 10 min at 64 ppb [1]. Since these gases are mostly invisible and odorless, there is a growing need to develop highly effective, rapid, and selective sensors capable of detecting a wide range of CWAs to prevent potential disasters. For instance, Dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) is a classified chemical due to its potential use in producing chemical weapons.

2D-materials have widely been exploited for gas sensing application. Among them, 2D materials(graphene, MXenes, TMDs) have shown to be excellent sensing layers forchemiresistive devices due to their inherent high surface/volume ratio and multifunctionalization properties [2]. However, these materials face significant limitations, such as low sensitivity, long response and recovery times, and poor selectivity. Therefore, there is still much work needed to improve sensitivity, response and recovery times, and selectivity to achieve satisfactory room temperature (RT) gas sensor performance. One approach to addressing these issues is to develop gas sensors based on 2D-materials, such as MXene. To improve their performance, heterostructures (MXenes/graphene) or functionalized 2Dmaterials (MXenes) will be studied.

In this internship (with the possibility of continuation in thesis), the objectives are to: 1)

develop new simple-to-use portable miniaturized DMMP-sensors based on 2D-materials (MXenes), heterostructures (MXenes / graphene) and functionalized 2D-materials (MXenes)

with organometallic complexes; 2) integrate the fabricated DMMP-chemiresistive sensor with

a light weight flexible electronic system for the acquisition, treatment and transfer of recorded data; 3) evaluate the performances of the as-fabricated sensors in controlled and real conditions.

In the framework of the DGA project, we are looking for a highly motivated intern. The hosting laboratories have strong expertise in the synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials and their applications in gas sensing. The candidate will work on both aspects: the elaboration of nanomaterials and their implementation in sensing devices in close collaboration with other project partners.

Bibliographie :

 [1] L. Saya, et al., Springer Nature Singapore, Singapore, (2022) 453–489.

[2] Z. Witkiewicz et al. Sensors, 23 (6) (2023) 3272.

• Master’s degree in Materials Science, Chemistry, or Physical Chemistry.
• Strong background in electrical characterization.
• Experience with microstructural and spectroscopic characterization techniques is preferred.
• Applicants should be self-driven, highly motivated, and able to work independently toward the project objectives.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are required.