In-situ controllable preparation of ZIF-8-wrapped ZnO heterojunction nanorods array for ppb-level Cl2 detection operated at near room temperature

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Switzerland : 1996), 2024-08, Vol.493, p.152631, Article 152631
• Main Authors: Meng, Xiaoqian, Gao, Rui, Zheng, Ming, Zhou, Xin, Zhang, Xianfa, Cheng, Xiaoli, Xu, Yingming, Gao, Shan, Huo, Lihua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cl2 detection; Low power consumption; Nanorods array; ZnO@ZIF-8
• ISSN: 1385-8947
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2024.152631

•A novel ZnO@ZIF-8 nanorods array film was successfully synthesized via a template-free solvothermal method.•The film exhibited excellent response to Cl₂ gas at a low operating temperature of 40 °C.•The synergistic effect between ZnO and ZIF-8 in promoting Cl₂ adsorption was also explored. Real-time monitoring of chlorine gas (Cl2) with a strong irritating odor is an indispensable means of avoiding its contamination of the air and harm to the body. To achieve this purpose, a novel gas-sensitive material capable of detecting low concentrations of Cl2 at near room temperature is developed in this paper. ZIF-8 with a kinetic diameter of 3.4 Å in the designed ZnO@ZIF-8 composites is able to sieve gas molecules with different kinetic diameters, enabling effective improvement of the selectivity of the gas-sensitive materials. In addition, the porous structure of ZIF-8 can provide more reactive sites, which is conducive to improving gas adsorption capacity and providing of channels for gas diffusion. In this study, ZnO@ZIF-8 heterojunction composites are prepared by combining the advantages of ZnO and ZIF-8, which provides a new method for real-time monitoring of low concentrations of Cl2, and also has potential practical applications in fields such as environmental monitoring and industrial safety.