Modern pied pipers: Child social media influencers and junk food on YouTube-A study from Germany

We report the microwave-assisted synthesis of Au nanoparticles (NPs) anchored porous ZnO nanosheets (Au-ZnO NSs) and their application in the sensitive detection of 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (2-CEES) vapors, which are a simulant of sulfur mustard chemical weapon. Upon microwave irradiation for < 1 min with an annealing, highly crystalline Au NPs with a narrow particle-size distribution (2.32 +/- 0.40 nm) are densely formed on the surface of porous ZnO NSs, which increases the density of oxygen vacancies in the ZnO. Under the optimal working temperature (450 C), the response of the Au-ZnO NS sensor was measured to be 787 for 10 ppm 2-CEES, which is -14 times higher than that observed for the bare porous ZnO NSs-based sensor. Moreover, Au-ZnO NSs can detect 2-CEES gas even under high humidity (-80 %) benefiting from its high sensitivity. The highly reproducible sensing performance was verified by repeated sensing test (20 times for 12 h). According to gas screening data, the Au-ZnO NSs exhibited outstanding selectivity toward sulfide compounds due to the high Au-S affinity. In summary, we have successfully demonstrated a simple and facile approach to form the Au-ZnO heterostructure by microwave irradiation and enhanced the gas-sensing performance by inducing catalytic activity.

Automated summary

We synthesized Au nanoparticles (NPs) anchored porous ZnO nanosheets (Au-ZnO NSs) using microwave assistance and demonstrated their application in the sensitive detection of 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (2-CEES) vapors. The highly crystalline Au NPs with a narrow size distribution were densely formed on the ZnO NSs surface, increasing the density of oxygen vacancies. The Au-ZnO NS sensor showed a significantly higher response to 2-CEES compared to the bare ZnO NS sensor.