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ZnO Nanosheets Abundant in Oxygen Vacancies Derived from Metal‐Organic Frameworks for ppb‐Level Gas Sensing
Author(s) -
Yuan Hongye,
Aljneibi Saif Abdulla Ali Alateeqi,
Yuan Jiaren,
Wang Yuxiang,
Liu Hui,
Fang Jie,
Tang Chunhua,
Yan Xiaohong,
Cai Hong,
Gu Yuandong,
Pennycook Stephen John,
Tao Jifang,
Zhao Dan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201807161
Subject(s) - materials science , nanotechnology , metal organic framework , mesoporous material , imidazolate , adsorption , chemical engineering , catalysis , biochemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering
Surmounting the inhomogeniety issue of gas sensors and realizing their reproducible ppb‐level gas sensing are highly desirable for widespread deployments of sensors to build networks in applications of industrial safety and indoor/outdoor air quality monitoring. Herein, a strategy is proposed to substantially improve the surface homogeneity of sensing materials and gas sensing performance via chip‐level pyrolysis of as‐grown ZIF‐L (ZIF stands for zeolitic imidazolate framework) films to porous and hierarchical zinc oxide (ZnO) nanosheets. A novel approach to generate adjustable oxygen vacancies is demonstrated, through which the electronic structure of sensing materials can be fine‐tuned. Their presence is thoroughly verified by various techniques. The sensing results demonstrate that the resultant oxygen vacancy‐abundant ZnO nanosheets exhibit significantly enhanced sensitivity and shortened response time toward ppb‐level carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds encompassing 1,3‐butadiene, toluene, and tetrachloroethylene, which can be ascribed to several reasons including unpaired electrons, consequent bandgap narrowing, increased specific surface area, and hierarchical micro–mesoporous structures. This facile approach sheds light on the rational design of sensing materials via defect engineering, and can facilitate the mass production, commercialization, and large‐scale deployments of sensors with controllable morphology and superior sensing performance targeted for ultratrace gas detection.