DFT Study of Adsorption Behavior of Nitro Species on Carbon-Doped Boron Nitride Nanoribbons for Toxic Gas Sensing

The modifications of the electronic properties on carbon-doped boron nitride nanoribbons (BNNRs) as a response to the adsorption of different nitro species were investigated in the framework of the density functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation. Calculations were performed using the SIESTA code. We found that the main response involved tuning the original magnetic behavior to a non-magnetic system when the molecule was chemisorbed on the carbon-doped BNNR. It was also revealed that some species could be dissociated through the adsorption process. Furthermore, the nitro species preferred to interact over nanosurfaces where dopants substituted the B sublattice of the carbon-doped BNNRs. Most importantly, the switch on the magnetic behavior offers the opportunity to apply these systems to fit novel technological applications.