Korea Institute of Materials Science creates lead‑free perovskite sensor detecting ammonia at 1 ppm

A team headed by principal researcher Myungkwan Song of the Energy & Environment Materials Research Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) has announced the creation of an ultrasensitive ammonia gas sensor built from an environmentally friendly, lead‑free perovskite material. The new device promises to detect trace levels of ammonia with unprecedented precision, a capability that could improve safety monitoring in industrial settings, agricultural facilities, and urban air‑quality networks.

The sensor’s core is a lead‑free perovskite crystal that exhibits exceptional electronic conductivity and surface reactivity when exposed to ammonia molecules. By eliminating lead, the material addresses long‑standing toxicity concerns associated with conventional perovskite sensors, while its nanostructured morphology enhances the active surface area and accelerates charge transfer. Early laboratory tests indicate a detection limit in the parts‑per‑billion range, outperforming many current commercial ammonia detectors that typically respond only at parts‑per‑million concentrations.

If the performance can be replicated in field deployments, the technology could offer a low‑cost, high‑accuracy alternative for real‑time monitoring of ammonia emissions from livestock farms, fertilizer storage, and chemical plants. The KIMS team plans to collaborate with industry partners to integrate the sensor into portable monitoring kits and to explore scaling the fabrication process for commercial production.