MOF-5-derived ZnO nanochains: synthesis and ultrafast triethylamine sensing performance

At present, functional materials such as metal sulfides, metal oxides and so on synthesized with metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as the general templates or precursors in the field of gas sensing have been a new strategy to improve gas-sensing performance. In this work, a unique MOF-5-derived ZnO nanochains (NCs) sample is synthesized through a conventional solvothermal method with subsequent annealing process. The ZnO NCs-based sensor exhibits outstanding sensing performance such as fast response time (< 1 s) and high response value 34.7 toward 20 ppm triethylamine (TEA). The ZnO NCs sample was characterized by a series of methods (XRD, SEM, XPS and so on). The excellent TEA-sensing properties can be ascribed to the unique nanochain morphology and a plenty of oxygen vacancies of the ZnO crystal through the analysis of the morphology and composition of the sample. In addition, a possible growth mechanism comes up and the sensing mechanism is discussed. The superior TEA sensing performance makes the as-synthesized MOF-5 derived ZnO NCs sample a potential candidate for TEA fast detection.