Self-stacked Co(OH)2/Co3O4 nanosheets for high-selectivity gas sensor to n-butyl alcohol

The mechanism of gas sensing to n-butyl alcohol. • 1.The Co(OH) 2 /Co 3 O 4 nanosheets with self-stacked structure have been successfully synthesized, which can effectively enhance the conductivity between the layers of Co 3 O 4. • 2.The composite stacked with Co(OH) 2 causes the selective adsorption of n-butyl alcohol on the surface of the material. • 3.Compared with pure Co 3 O 4 and h 3 -Co 3 O 4 , the h 1 -Co 3 O 4 gas sensor showed excellent performance for n-butyl alcohol under the same test conditions. A facile route to synthesize the self-stacked structure-based Co(OH) 2 /Co 3 O 4 nanosheets material by a one-step hydrothermal technique is reported. The nanomaterial-based gas sensor exhibits an excellent selectivity and sensitivity in n-butyl alcohol detecting. The possible mechanism of gas sensing is discussed by adopting a combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). The improved the concentrations of oxygen vacancy and intramolecular dehydration phenomenon occurs in the n-butyl alcohol proposed to elucidate the gas sensing mechanism.