Recently, the journal of Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical announced the most cited article published since 2018, and total 25 papers have been selected out. The research paper, entitled ‘C₃N monolayers as promising candidates for NO₂ sensors’, by associate Prof. Dongwei Ma at School of Materials is among the list. The full paper can be found via the link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925400518306579. Among the 25 selected papers, there are 6 review articles, and the paper by associate Prof. Dongwei Ma is the only work completed totally by the theoretical calculations. According to Scopus database, the paper has been cited 87 times, among which 83 times citations come from other researchers.

The sensitivity, selectivity and reversibility of two-dimensional semiconductor C₃N towards NO₂ were studied systematically by using the first-principles method. The strategy of B substitutional doping is proposed to enhance the sensing performance of C₃N towards NO₂. This work can provide important guidance for theoretical studies on gas sensing properties of new two-dimensional semiconductor and experimental improvement of gas sensing performance of two-dimensional carbon-nitrogen materials.

Figure: Theoretical characterization of the electronic structure of NO2 adsorbed B-doped C3N surface.

Dr. Dongwei Ma is mainly engaged in the theoretical study on the surface and interface of materials, and his main research interests include thermal catalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, gas sensing, etc. Dr. Dongwei Ma received his PhD in physics from Fudan University in 2012, and then worked in the School of Physics of Anyang Normal University. In August 2020, he joined the School of Materials, Henan University. He has published more than 100 SCI papers in the journals of Angew. Chem., Nano Research, J. Mater. Chem., J. Phys. Chem., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., Carbon, etc. These papers have been cited by 3292 times (2717 times by others) and his h-Index is 35. He also serves as reviewers for journals of Nat. Commun., Appl. Catal. B, Energy Storage Mater., J. Phys. Chem., and J. Mater. Chem. etc. He has been the Review Editor of Frontiers in Sensors since April 2020.