For homogeneous heterojunctions (n-n type, p-p type), the phenomenon of band bending and potential barrier formation can also occur due to changes in the Fermi level. For n-n heterojunctions, electrons transfer from the high Fermi level side to the low Fermi level side, with an electron depletion layer formed on the high Fermi level side and an electron accumulation layer formed on the other side. However, for p-p heterojunctions, holes transfer from the low Fermi level side to the high Fermi level side, with a hole accumulation layer formed on one side of the high Fermi level and a hole depletion layer formed on the other side [
120,
121]. Exposure to BTX will help consume surface oxygen and inject electrons into the surface to reduce the depletion layer (
Fig. 7a). Formed a significant reduction in resistance and achieved higher gas sensing performance. Qu
et al. [
130] synthesized hierarchical p-p type Co
3O
4—NiMoO
4 core-shell nanowires (CSNWs) through a two-step hydrothermal process. The SEM and TEM images of the Co
3O
4—NiMoO
4 CSNWs are shown in
Figs. 7b and
c. These NWs exhibit a response of 24.6 (
Rgas/
Rair) in 100 ppm xylene at 255 ℃ which is nearly 2 times larger than the response of pure Co
3O
4 NWs. Moreover, the p-p type Co
3O
4—NiMoO
4 heterojunction shows great selectivity of xylene compared to toluene, benzene, ethanol, acetone,
etc. (
Fig. 7d). These exceptional gas-sensing properties result from the synergistic catalytic effects and the Co
3O
4—NiMoO
4 heterostructure. Another range of p-p heterojunctions with different NiGa
2O
4—NiO composites has been systematically fabricated by Chen
et al. [
123] through a straightforward solvothermal method (
Fig. 7e). The NiGa
2O
4—NiO p-p type heterostructure consisting of 50 wt% NiGa
2O
4 has demonstrated superior sensing capabilities, showing a substantial response (
Rg/
Ra = 12.7–100 ppm of toluene;
Rg/
Ra = 16.3–100 ppm of xylene) as shown in
Figs. 7f and
g. The enhanced sensing attributes are primarily attributed to the optimized p-p heterojunction structure, which facilitates the transfer of electrons from NiGa
2O
4 to NiO, enhances oxygen adsorption on the NiO surface, thereby augmenting the catalytic effect of NiO in oxidizing toluene and xylene. In Gao's research [
132], another Ni based p-p type heterojunction NiO—NiCr
2O
4 was synthesized with a Cr/Ni ratio of 25 at%. The p-p type heterojunction NiO—NiCr
2O
4 comprised a homogeneous blend of small NiO and NiCr
2O
4 NPs and demonstrated robust xylene response 66.2 at 100 ppm (
Fig. 7h) and an impressively low LOD at 50 ppb. Furthermore, the p-p type heterojunction NiO—NiCr
2O
4 exhibited exceptional xylene sensitivity.The outstanding capability for xylene detection can be attributed to the formation of the nanoscale p-p NiO—NiCr
2O
4 heterojunctions, large surface area and the synergistic catalytic promotion of NiO and NiCr
2O
4 NPs. Additionally, the n-n type heterojunction has been synthesized in Wang's research [
117], which revealed that the triangular CeO
2 nanoflake enhanced the response of ZnO-based gas sensing materials to BTX vapors. The response values (
Ra/
Rg) of the n-n type ZnO—CeO
2 heterojunction gas sensing material to 50 ppm benzene, toluene and xylene were 10.3, 20.3 and 19.7 respectively which is more than three times higher and a quicker response than the n type bare ZnO (
Fig. 7i). Notably, the n-n type ZnO—CeO
2 heterojunction bi-layer sensor detected toluene vapor at under 10 ppb. In conclusion, the homogeneous heterojunctions (n-n, p-p) and the isomorphic heterojunctions (p-n type, n-p type) of MOS can both increase the response, selectivity and response/recovery time in detecting BTX gas molecules, which can significantly attribute to the charge distribution, depletion/barrier layers formation and the balance of the different Fermi levels at the interface of the two MOSs.