BCl3 is toxic gas and its detection is of great importance. Thus, here, B3LYP, M06-2X, and B97D density functionals are utilized for probing the effect of decorating Zn, Cd, and Au on the sensing performance of an AlP nano-sheet (AlPNS) in detecting the BCl3. We predict that the interaction of pure AlPNS with BCl3 is physisorption, and the sensing response (SR) of AlPNS is approximately 9.2. The adsorption energy of BCl3 changes from −4.1 to −18.8, −19.1, and −19.5 kcal/mol by decorating the Zn, Cd, and Au metals into the AlPNS surface, respectively. Also, the corresponding SR meaningfully rises to 40.4, 59.0, and 80.9, indicating that by increasing the atomic number of metals, the sensitivity of metal decorated AlPNS (metal@AlPNS) is increased. Therefore, we found that Au-decorating much more increases the sensitivity of AlPNS toward BCl3. As energy decomposing analysis reveals the electrostatic, also known as cation-lone pair interaction, is mostly the nature of the interaction between the BCl3 and metal@AlPNS.
