MOF-5-derived ZnO nanochains: synthesis and ultrafast triethylamine sensing performance

摘要

At present, functional materials such as metal sulfides, metal oxides and so on synthesized with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as the general templates or precursors in the field of gas sensing have been a new strategy to improve gas-sensing performance. In this work, a unique MOF-5-derived ZnO nanochains (NCs) sample is synthesized through a conventional solvothermal method with subsequent annealing process. The ZnO NCs-based sensor exhibits outstanding sensing performance such as fast response time (＜ 1 s) and high response value 34.7 toward 20 ppm triethylamine (TEA). The ZnO NCs sample was characterized by a series of methods (XRD, SEM, XPS and so on). The excellent TEA-sensing properties can be ascribed to the unique nanochain morphology and a plenty of oxygen vacancies of the ZnO crystal through the analysis of the morphology and composition of the sample. In addition, a possible growth mechanism comes up and the sensing mechanism is discussed. The superior TEA sensing performance makes the as-synthesized MOF-5 derived ZnO NCs sample a potential candidate for TEA fast detection.