Enhanced formaldehyde sensing properties of MoS2-Zn2SnO4 nanocomposites synthesized via hydrothermal method

Abstract For the purpose of detecting indoor formaldehyde, some new nanocomposites MoS2-Zn2SnO4 were synthesized via hydrothermal method, the materials were characterized by XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, SEM, EDS and XPS, respectively. From XRD, the formation of Zn2SnO4 was confirmed, besides; increased oxygen contents (XPS) and enhanced surface area (BET) of MZSO-5 together facilitated larger adsorption of formaldehyde, which explained the maximum response of this sample to formaldehyde vapor. The complete study regarding gas sensing measurements stated that MSZO-5 based sensor enhanced the gas sensing response to 100 ppm formaldehyde compared with other tested seven volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the identified response was 22 at 110°C, while for other VOCs the highest response (7.1) to 100 ethanol was detected, which revealed its good selectivity to formaldehyde; especially, the response reached 1.35 to 0.01 ppm formaldehyde. Thus, it could be a potential candidate for detecting formaldehyde, if its stability was improved.