Highly sensitive and stable yolk-shell Bi2MoO6 gas sensor for ppb-level isopropanol detection

Metal oxide semiconductor used for the fabrication of volatile organic gas sensors has gained significant popularity in recent years. This paper discusses the synthesis of yolk-shell-structure Bi2MoO6 (YS-BMO) for isopropanol detection through quasi-molecular imprinting-based solvent-thermal methods. Various qualitative characterization techniques, gas sensing performance tests, and theoretical calculations collectively indicate that YS-BMO with molecular imprinting is a potential material for isopropanol sensing. YS-BMO with an average diameter of approximately 1.5 µm (15 h of solvothermal), demonstrates impressive isopropanol detection capabilities, a practical detection limit of 100 ppb, along with suitable response and recovery times. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations provide a deeper understanding and analysis of the response mechanism of Bi2MoO6 to isopropanol, considering aspects such as band structure, electron transfer, and adsorption energy.