A portable electrochemical room-temperature sensor based on flower-like structure UIO-66-NH2@MoS2 composite for ammonia detection

Due to the toxicity and corrosiveness of the ammonia gas, low-cost, portable, and accurate methods of ammonia detection are of great importance in environmental testing and disease diagnosis. In this study, flower-like UIO-66-NH2@MoS2 composite modified screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) were prepared by hydrothermal treatment using ionic liquids [BMIM][BF4] as electrolytes. The UIO-66-NH2@MoS2/SPEs were then combined with a miniature electrochemical workstation to construct a novel electrochemical ammonia sensor. The experimental results showed that UIO-66-NH2@MoS2 had excellent adsorption capacity for ammonia, exhibiting good linearity in the range of 5–500 ppm with a low limit of detection (2.1 ppm) and a fast response time for 100 ppm ammonia (13 s). This sensor also possessed excellent stability, reproducibility, and anti-interference ability. The synthesized UIO-66-NH2@MoS2 nanocomposite was demonstrated to be an excellent candidate for the construction of high-performance ammonia sensors for various applications.