Porous Au/ZnO nanoparticles synthesised through a metal organic framework (MOF) route for enhanced acetone gas-sensing

The design of porous metal oxides with noble metal doping has attracted tremendous attention due to their vital importance for gas sensing applications. Herein, we report the synthesis of porous Au/ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) through a facile metal organic framework (MOF) route. The structures, sensing properties, as well as sensing mechanisms of products are carefully investigated. The porous Au/ZnO NPs show a high gas-sensing response (17.1 ppm−1) and selectivity towards low concentration acetone at an optimum temperature of 275 °C. The enhanced sensing performances are ascribed to the chemical and electronic sensitization of Au NPs, the porous structure and the high specific surface area of Au/ZnO NPs. Our studies might provide a simple MOF-derived method to synthesize porous structures with noble metal doping and would be beneficial to the development of high performance gas sensing materials.