ZIF-67/BiOCl nanocomposites for highly efficient detection of NO2 gas at room temperature

Abstract

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are considered ideal gas-sensing materials owing to their unparalleled tunability, large surface area, rich porosity, and extensive active metal sites. In this work, a mechanical stirring method was developed to combine 3D ZIF-67 which inherits many of the benefits of the MOFs with 2D thin helical BiOCl nanosheets (NSs) with abundant oxygen vacancies to form ZIF-67/BiOCl (ZBO) gas sensors. The as-prepared sensors were efficiently used for the selective detection of nitrogen dioxide at room temperature (RT). The ZBO sensor exhibited an admirable gas-sensing performance showing a high response of 44.81 to 100 ppm NO₂. The sensor displayed short response/recovery times with long-term stability and excellent moisture resistance to prove its real-life applications. Therefore, it is reasonable to speculate that ZBO gas sensors have good material prospects in the field of gas sensing.