Smart formaldehyde detection enabled by metal organic framework-derived doped electrospun hollow nanofibers

The 15 wt% ZIF-8 derived Zn2+ doped SnO2 hollow nanofibers synthesized by facile electrospinning technique and subsequent thermal treatment possess excellent gas-sensing property with a sensing response value of 25.7 towards 100 ppm HCHO, fast response/recovery time (12 /45 s) and the trace detection capacity as low as 500 ppb. [Display omitted] •Metal-organic framework-derived Zn2+ doped SnO2 hollow nanofibers have been synthesized via facile electrospinning technique and subsequent thermal treatment.•The trace detection capacity of 15 wt% ZZS HNFs is as low as 500 ppb HCHO with a response value of 1.48.•The smart HCHO detection device based on 15 wt% ZZS HNFs gas sensor can achieve real-time monitor and effective alarm for HCHO gas.•The improved gas sensing properties of 15 wt% ZZS HNFs can be attributed to the high specific surface area and abundant oxygen vacancies caused by optimized Zn2+ doping. In this work, the metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived Zn2+ doped SnO2 (ZZS) hollow nanofibers (HNFs) have been successfully synthesized via facile electrospinning and annealing techniques for achieving the low concentration of HCHO monitoring. As the hollow nanostructure and the optimized Zn2+ homogeneous doping behavior ensure all the smooth electrons transfer, abundant chemisorbed active sites and oxygen vacancies, the 15 wt% ZZS HNFs exhibited the excellent gas-sensing property with a sensing response value of 25.7 towards 100 ppm HCHO, fast response/recovery time (12 /45 s) and the detection capacity of HCHO down to 500 ppb in a rapid response/recovery time (10 /2 s) compared with pristine SnO2 and other ZZS HNFs. Moreover, when assembled into a practical smart detection device for real-time monitoring and early warning of HCHO, the 15 wt% ZZS HNFs still presented high sensitivity of HCHO, highlighting its bright commercial prospect in the future of smart indoor air quality monitoring.