Metal-Organic Framework Templated Synthesis of Ultrasmall Catalyst Loaded ZnO/ZnCo2O4 Hollow Spheres for Enhanced Gas Sensing Properties

Abstract To achieve the rational design of nanostructures for superior gas sensors, the ultrasmall nanoparticles (NPs) loaded on ternary metal oxide (TMO) hollow spheres (HS) were synthesized by using the polystyrene (PS) sphere template and bimetallic metal-organic framework (BM-MOFs) mold. The zinc and cobalt based zeolite imidazole frameworks (BM-ZIFs) encapsulating ultrasmall Pd NPs (2–3 nm) were assembled on PS spheres at room temperature. After calcination at 450 °C, these nanoscale Pd particles were effectively infiltrated on the surface of ZnO/ZnCo 2 O 4 HSs. In addition, the heterojunctions of Pd-ZnO, Pd-ZnCo 2 O 4 , and ZnO-ZnCo 2 O 4 were formed on each phase. The synthesized Pd-ZnO/ZnCo 2 O 4 HSs exhibited extremely high selectivity toward acetone gas with notable sensitivity (S = 69% to 5 ppm at 250 °C). The results demonstrate that MOF driven ultrasmall catalyst loaded TMO HSs were highly effective platform for high performance chemical gas sensors.