Au-doped ZnO@ZIF-7 core-shell nanorod arrays for highly sensitive and selective NO2 detection

The exploration of novel NO2 sensors with high performance is of great importance for air quality monitoring and human health. In this work, Au-doped ZnO@ZIF-7 core-shell nanorod arrays were fabricated for high-performance NO2 detection. Due to the spill-over effects of Au nanoparticles, gas enriching and molecular sieving effects provided by ZIF-7 membranes, the ZnO-Au@ZIF-7 sensor affords highly sensitive and selective detection of NO2. The heterostructured ZnO-Au@ZIF-7 allows for ppb-level detection of NO2 (Response = 1.7–5 ppb) with excellent repeatability and provides improved selectivity, anti-humidity capacity, and long-term stability compared with bare ZnO, Au-doped ZnO or ZnO@ZIF-7 core-shell nanorod arrays. According to the calculation of density functional theory (DFT), the ZnO-Au@ZIF-7 sensor renders higher adsorption energy towards NO2 molecules compared with the aforementioned other materials, which also explains its outstanding sensing performances. We believe our approach that combines noble metals doped semiconductor metal oxides (SMOs) and MOF filtration membranes can be further extended to numerous new heterostructured SMO@MOF materials, which opens venues to the development of advanced chemiresistive gas sensors. •Facile fabrication of Au-doped ZnO@ZIF-7 core-shell nanorod arrays.•ZIF-7 membranes effectively enrich NO2 and filtrate larger gas molecules.•Ultra-low limit of detection (≤5 ppb) of NO2.•Excellent selectivity, improved anti-humidity capability and long-term stability.