Strain-regulated flexible molecular sensors enabled by 2D PtTe2

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDs) holds great promise for future wearable technologies. The large-scale synthesis of TMDs and the investigation of their molecular sensing properties are current research hotspots. Herein, we construct flexible PtTe2 molecular sensors directly on polyimide, followed by the exploration on ammonia sensing properties and stability under strain. The sensor shows an excellent ammonia response of 0.4% ppm-1surpassing most reported semimetal-based sensors. In-situ sensing testing reveals 500% enhancement in response after controlled strain engineering, which suggests the potential to expand limit of detection and linearity range.