Issue 42, 2022, Issue in Progress

Selective detection of methanol vapour from a multicomponent gas mixture using a CNPs/ZnO@ZIF-8 based room temperature solid-state sensor

Abstract

Methanol vapour is harmful to human health if it is inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin. Solid-state gas sensors are a promising system for the detection of volatile organic compounds, unfortunately, they can have poor gas selectivity, low sensitivity, an inferior limit of detection (LOD), sensitivity towards humidity, and a need to operate at higher temperatures. A novel solid-state gas sensor was assembled using carbon nanoparticles (CNPs), prepared from a simple pyrolysis reaction, and zinc oxide@zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 nanorods (ZnO@ZIF-8 nanorods), synthesised using a hydrothermal method. The nanomaterials were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The ZnO@ZIF-8 nanorods were inactive as a sensor, the CNPs showed some sensor activity, and the CNPs/ZnO@ZIF-8 nanorod composite performed as a viable solid-state sensor. The mass ratio of ZnO@ZIF-8 nanorods within the CNPs/ZnO@ZIF-8 nanorod composite was varied to investigate selectivity and sensitivity for the detection of ethanol, 2-propanol, acetone, ethyl acetate, chloroform, and methanol vapours. The assembled sensor composed of the CNPs/ZnO@ZIF-8 nanorod composite with a mass ratio of 1.5 : 6 showed improved gas sensing properties in the detection of methanol vapour with a LOD of 60 ppb. The sensor is insensitive to humidity and the methanol vapour sensitivity was found to be 0.51 Ω ppm−1 when detected at room temperature.

Graphical abstract: Selective detection of methanol vapour from a multicomponent gas mixture using a CNPs/ZnO@ZIF-8 based room temperature solid-state sensor

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 Jul 2022
Accepted
12 Sep 2022
First published
23 Sep 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2022,12, 27094-27108

Selective detection of methanol vapour from a multicomponent gas mixture using a CNPs/ZnO@ZIF-8 based room temperature solid-state sensor

L. Malepe, D. T. Ndinteh, P. Ndungu and M. A. Mamo, RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 27094 DOI: 10.1039/D2RA04665B

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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