Maziar Noei - Department of Chemistry College of Chemistry, Mahshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahshahr, Iran
Pooria Gholamkhasi - Department of Chemistry College of Chemistry, Mahshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahshahr, Iran

Electrical sensitivity of an aluminum nitride nanotube (AlNNT) was examined toward pyrrole (C5H6N) and phosphine (PH3) molecules by using density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory, and it was found the adsorption energy (Ead) of those molecules on the AlNNT are according to this order: PH3(Ead=-46.37kcal/mol)> C5H6N(Ead=-11.99kcal/mol) when the nanotube have been doped with Si, P, S atoms, the adsorption energy for those molecules on the nanotube were increased. Calculations showed that when the nanotube was doped by those atoms, the amount of HOMO/LUMO energy gap (Eg) reduced significantly. Aluminum nitride nanotube is a suitable adsorbent for detection and separation of those compounds. The result showed that the nanotube (AlNNT) is a suitable semiconductor after doping and the doped AlNNT in the presence of those gases generates an electrical signal and therefore can be used potentially for gas sensors.

Sensor, Nanotube, DFT, AlNNT, Pyrrole, Phosphine