Insights into different toxic molecular gases on the Fe-dimer anchored at C2N monolayer as potential sorbents and gas sensors: A theoretical approach

The fundamental aspects, including geometric structure, adsorption energy, thermodynamic properties, charge transfer, and magnetic properties of carbon nitride C2N and double-atom catalyst (Fe2@C2N) monolayers with the adsorption of CO, NO, HCN, CS2, and SO2 molecules, were investigated using DFT and DFT-D3 correction dispersion methods. Compared to pristine C2N, the Fe2@C2N monolayer is more energetically efficient with high adsorption energies and has apparent charge transfer with these toxic gases. Our results revealed that NO preferred to be adsorbed on the Fe2@C2N with a superior Eads of −7.006 eV. The electric conductivity, sensitivity, and selectivity of C2N are significantly influenced by CO, NO, HCN, CS2, and SO2 molecules. Moreover, the opening of band gaps induced by the adsorption of NO gas molecules at Fe2@C2N can be used as an electronic signal to detect NO gas. Intriguingly, the partial density of states (PDOS) indicated that the NO adsorption of pristine C2N and Fe2@C2N monolayers exhibited half-metallicity behavior and magnetic properties. Non-covalent interactions (NCI) and the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) descriptors were examined to analyze the interaction process. This study can provide a new avenue for synthesizing and developing highly sensitive candidates and inexpensive green double-atom catalysts to capture and detect CO, NO, HCN, CS2, and SO2 molecules from the atmosphere at ambient temperature.