Efficient ethanol sensor based on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)-derived Ag@ZnO NPs

It is demanding to exploit highly efficient ethanol sensors due to the malign irritating effects and explosion risks. This paper reports an excellent ethanol sensor based on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)-derived Ag@ZnO nanoparticles (NPs). Specifically, 1.25 wt% Ag@ZnO sensor exhibits a ninefold improvement of response at 230 ℃ (~ 120, to 100 ppm ethanol), besides the short response time (~ 5 s) and a low theoretical detection limit (35 ppb). We propose that the optimized Ag dopant boosts sensing performances due to the electronic/chemical sensitization effects, besides the increased oxygen vacancies and nano-heterojunctions. The superior sensitivity and selectivity of the innovative ZIF-8 derived Ag@ZnO sensors may provide a valuable reference for promising ethanol sensing applications.