Synthesis of Mesoporous SiO2 Nanomicrospheres for the Efficient Cataluminescence Sensing of Isobutyraldehyde

Cataluminescence (CTL) sensors are among the most simple, inexpensive, sensitive, and selective tools for gas sensing. This study presented a highly efficient and selective CTL sensor system based on mesoporous SiO2 nanomicrospheres for the quick and sensitive analysis of isobutyraldehyde. Furthermore, its response intensity was 12.7 times higher than that of a nonmesoporous SiO2-based sensor. The constructed CTL sensor exhibited a good linear range (R2 = 0.997) for detecting isobutyraldehyde, spanning 3.11–311 ppm, with a low detection limit of 1.1 ppm. This enabled successful analysis of trace isobutyraldehyde in real samples. Finally, the CTL mechanism of this sensor was further explored. This study presents an approach for the quality detection of an important volatile organic compound, isobutyraldehyde, by a mesoporous-based CTL sensor.