Mesoporous flower-like MoS 2 structures enable high-sensitivity gas sensors for diethyl ether

Abstract Despite its declining use as an anesthetic, diethyl ether remains a hazardous solvent that requires sensitive and selective detection methods. This study reports a mesoporous, flower-like MoS 2 -based cataluminescence (CTL) sensor for diethyl ether monitoring, with high selectivity, sensitivity, stability, and a rapid response. Under optimized conditions (carrier gas flow rate 100 mL min −1 , operating temperature 207 °C, detection wavelength 440 nm), the mesoporous MoS 2 sensor was tested against a panel of common volatile organic compounds: 2-butanol, n-hexane, methyl acetate, dimethylamine, styrene, propionic acid, ethanol, formaldehyde solution, acetone, and benzene. Only 2-butanol produced a weak luminescence response (6.8% of the diethyl ether signal), none of the other compounds produced measurable luminescence. Within the concentration range 0.100–20.0 mg L −1 , the CTL signal showed a strong linear relationship with diethyl ether concentration ( R 2 = 0.998), and the limit of detection ( S/N = 3) was 0.03 mg L −1 . In analyses of three representative interfering samples, the relative standard deviation ( n = 7) for diethyl ether ranged from 3.5% to 8.7%, and recoveries were 91.5%–109%. These results indicate that the mesoporous MoS 2 CTL sensor is suitable for determination of diethyl ether in real samples, and suggest its promise for environmental monitoring of diethyl ether.