MOF Structure engineering to synthesize core-shell heterostructures with controllable shell layer thickness: Regulating gas selectivity and sensitivity

Metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived metal oxide semiconductors have received significant attention for gas sensing applications. Herein, we reported core-shell In2O3@ZnO n-n heterostructures by depositing ZIF-8 derivative onto wrinkled In2O3 sphere, realizing the control of ZnO shell thickness (12.6–72.4 nm) through controlling MOF growth time. Due to the formation of n-n heterojunction at the core-shell interface, the tuning of shell thickness can lead to the radial modulation of the electron-accumulation layer in ZnO, and realizing the control of free charge carrier concentration that participated in gas sensing reaction. What’s more, the MOF-derived ZnO shell with rich oxygen vacancies is beneficial for oxygen chemisorption. Accordingly, compared with the In2O3 based sensor, the In2O3@ZnO based sensor exhibits higher sensitivity to trace-level acetone (100 ppb), faster response time (2 s vs. 100 ppm), better selectivity, and stronger anti-humidity capacity at operating temperature 300 °C, while the thickness of ZnO shell is 55.3 nm. In addition, the increase of ZnO shell thickness can lead to the selectivity change from ethanol to acetone of In2O3@ZnO owing to the inherent catalytic oxidation activity. Thus, the remarkable performance of the In2O3@ZnO sensor mainly relies on ZnO shell layer.