Reduced graphene oxide wrapped Au@ZnO core-shell structure for highly selective triethylamine gas sensing application at a low temperature

•Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) coated Au@ZnO core-shell structure was synthesized.•The gas response is up to 12.2% when the concentration of triethylamine gas is 5 ppm (50 °C).•The sensitivity of RGO/Au/ZnO sensor to TEA gas is almost 6 times higher than that of ethanol and acetone at 50 °C.•The excellent selective sensing properties are largely attributed to the synergistic effect. Selective noxious gas sensing at low temperature is very important in some industrial applications. Here, we demonstrate that the reduced graphene oxide (RGO) wrapped Au@ZnO core-shell composite can be fabricated in wafer-level and used as the key sensor materials for triethylamine sensing with a high response of 12.2% for 5 ppm of TEA gas at a low temperature (50 °C). The sensitivity of RGO/Au/ZnO sensor to TEA gas achieved almost 6 times higher than that of ethanol and acetone, 5 times that of methanol and isopropanol, and 3 times that of ammonia. The selective sensing properties are largely attributed to the synergistic effect of the core-shell structure and the ZnO/RGO heterojunctions. This work provides a significant strategy for TEA gas sensor selective sensing arrays application at low temperatures.