Fe-based metal-organic framework as a chemiresistive sensor for low-temperature monitoring of acetone gas

This work demonstrates the potential of a novel iron-based metal-organic framework (Fe-MOF or VNU-15) to effectively detect low-concentration volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly acetone (CH3COCH3). A facile solvothermal strategy was used to synthesize Fe-MOFs, comprising Fe(II)/Fe(III) and two distinct linkers—BDC (benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate) and NDC (naphthalene-2,6-dicarboxylic acid). As a first step, Fe-MOFs were characterized to determine their pure phase formation and identify their structural and morphological characteristics. Fe-MOFs processed via the solvothermal method demonstrated high crystallinity, high thermal stability, polyhedral crystal-shaped surface morphology, and a surface area of 735 m2g−1, making them suitable for gas-sensing applications. Laboratory-scale gas-sensing devices were fabricated by printing Fe-MOF powder onto patterned interdigitated electrodes, with performance measurements conducted on these devices in response to exposure to various target gases at temperatures between 25 and 200 °C and gas concentrations between 1 and 10 ppm. Gas-sensing tests confirmed that the VNU-15 sensor selectivity detects CH3COCH3 with a gas response of 1.68–10 ppm and a response time of 64 s, followed by a recovery time of 166 s at 50 °C. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using novel MOF-based sensing channels as low-temperature gas sensors, providing new insights into gas-sensing technology.