A multi-platform sensor for selective and sensitive H2S monitoring: Three-dimensional macroporous ZnO encapsulated by MOFs with small Pt nanoparticles

The high-selectivity and high-sensitivity determination of trace concentrations of toxic gases is a major challenge when using semiconductor metal oxide (SMO) gas sensors in complicated real-world environments. In this study, by strategically combining a three-dimensional inverse opal (3DIO) macroporous ZnO substrate and a ZIF-8 outer filter membrane, two series of sensors with Pt NPs loaded at different locations are developed. In the optimal 3DIO ZnO@ZIF-8/Pt sensor, the existence of small Pt NPs in ZIF-8 cavities can effectively accelerate the absorption of H2S, capture electrons from the N site of ZIF-8, and donate the electron to the S site of H2S, as indicated by density functional theory simulations, leading to a significantly increased response to H2S. Together with the molecular-sieving effect that ZIF-8 exerts on gas molecules with larger kinetic diameters, the 3DIO ZnO@ZIF-8/Pt sensor exhibits a high response to H2S (118-5.5 ppm), a detection limit of 40 ppb, and importantly, a 59-fold higher selectivity to H2S against typical interference gases. In addition, the 3DIO ZnO@ZIF-8/Pt sensor is developed as a multi-platform sensor to evaluate trace concentrations of H2S in meat quality assessment, halitosis diagnosis, and automobile exhaust assessment.