MOF-derived porous ZnO/Co3O4 nanocomposites for high performance acetone gas sensing

We report a facile strategy to synthesize porous ZnO/Co3O4 composites by direct pyrolysis of the metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) precursor and their applications to the sensing of acetone at ppb-ppm level. The as-prepared ZnO/Co3O4 sample exhibits enhanced sensitivity (15.17 ppm(-1)), high selectivity towards low-concentration acetone when compared with pure ZnO. The enhancement in gas sensing performance of ZnO/Co3O4 sample could be attributed to the unique porous structure, the p-Co3O4/n-ZnO junctions effect and the catalytic activity of Co3O4. The studies might open intriguing perspectives for the design of porous p/n composites for high performance gas sensing applications.