Metal–organic framework-derived mesoporous Co3O4 with high specific surface area for enhanced xylene sensing

Abstract

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have unique potential in the field of gas sensing due to their ultra-high specific surface area and abundant mesoporous structure. In this paper, a mesoporous Co₃O₄ hollow polyhedron structure with high specific surface area (141.6 m² g⁻¹) was synthesized by annealing at the optimum temperature. The gas response of the mesoporous Co₃O₄ hollow polyhedron structure to volatile organic compounds such as xylene, ethanol, methanol and acetone was systematically tested. The experimental results show that the mesoporous Co₃O₄ hollow polyhedron structure has the highest sensitivity (21.33) and excellent stability for xylene gas, and the detection limit is low (1 ppm). The excellent sensing performance benefits from large surface area, high oxygen defect concentration and mesoporous structure.