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Analysis of institutional authors

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June 5, 2023
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Hydrogen Sensing Mechanism of WS2 Gas Sensors Analyzed with DFT and NAP-XPS

Publicated to:Sensors. 23 (10): 4623- - 2023-05-10 23(10), DOI: 10.3390/s23104623

Authors: Minezaki, Tomoya; Kruger, Peter; Annanouch, Fatima Ezahra; Casanova-Chafer, Juan; Alagh, Aanchal; Villar-Garcia, Ignacio J J; Perez-Dieste, Virginia; Llobet, Eduard; Bittencourt, Carla

Affiliations

ALBA Synchrotron Light Facility - Author
ALBA Synchrotron Light Source, Carrer Llum 2-26, Cerdanyola Del Valles 08290, Spain - Author
Chiba Univ, Grad Sch Sci & Engn, Dept Mat Sci, 1-33 Yayoi Cho,Inage Ku, Chiba, Chiba 2638522, Japan - Author
Chiba University - Author
Univ Mons, Chim Interact Plasma Surface, CIRMAP, Pl Parc 23, B-7000 Mons, Belgium - Author
Univ Rovira & Virgili, Dept Engn Elect, Paisos Catalans 26, Tarragona 43007, Spain - Author
Universitat Rovira i Virgili - Author
Université de Mons - Author
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Abstract

Nanostructured tungsten disulfide (WS2) is one of the most promising candidates for being used as active nanomaterial in chemiresistive gas sensors, as it responds to hydrogen gas at room temperature. This study analyzes the hydrogen sensing mechanism of a nanostructured WS2 layer using near-ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) and density functional theory (DFT). The W 4f and S 2p NAP-XPS spectra suggest that hydrogen makes physisorption on the WS2 active surface at room temperature and chemisorption on tungsten atoms at temperatures above 150 °C. DFT calculations show that a hydrogen molecule physically adsorbs on the defect-free WS2 monolayer, while it splits and makes chemical bonds with the nearest tungsten atoms on the sulfur point defect. The hydrogen adsorption on the sulfur defect causes a large charge transfer from the WS2 monolayer to the adsorbed hydrogen. In addition, it decreases the intensity of the in-gap state, which is generated by the sulfur point defect. Furthermore, the calculations explain the increase in the resistance of the gas sensor when hydrogen interacts with the WS2 active layer.

Keywords

2d materialsdftgas sensinghighly sensitive detectionnanoparticlestmdcs2d materialsAerosol-assisted cvdDftGas sensingNap-xpsTmdcs

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Sensors due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Instrumentation.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 2.19. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 1.71 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 8.04 (source consulted: Dimensions Aug 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-08-03, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 12
  • Scopus: 13
  • Europe PMC: 2
  • Google Scholar: 6

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-08-03:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 37.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 49 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 0.5.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 2 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Belgium; Japan.