Metal chalcogenide nanorings for temperature–strain dual-mode sensing

Most metal chalcogenides exhibit layered structures and anisotropic morphologies such as nanosheets, nanoplates, and nanotubes, as well as nanosheet-assembled nanoflowers. Unconventional morphologies such as nanorings may bring appealing properties to functional materials, but they have not been realized with metal chalcogenides. Herein, we report that Sn_0.2Mo_0.8S₂ nanorings with a mixed 1T/2H phase were synthesized by etching SnS₂ cores from Sn_1-xMo_xS₂/SnS₂ lateral heterostructures. Flexible electronic sensors based on these Sn_0.2Mo_0.8S₂ nanorings exhibited excellent temperature and strain sensing performance, with a negative temperature coefficient of resistance of -0.013 °C^-1 and a minimum detectable strain of 0.09%. In addition, the dual-functional flexible electronic sensors with easy fabrication and good wearability showed great promise for tracking human activities and monitoring inapparent health-related signals.