Formaldehyde is a volatile organic
compound (VOC) with extensive
applications, volatility, and toxicity, which have made it an important
risk to human health even at low concentrations. Therefore, rapid
detection of formaldehyde vapors in the environment is a necessity.
Herein, we introduce a resistive gas sensor based on zeolitic imidazolate
framework-8/multiwalled carbon nanotube (ZIF-8/MWCNT) for detection
of formaldehyde vapors at room temperature. In this sensor, a low
amount of MWCNTs was used in order to improve the electrical conductivity
of the porous nanoparticles of ZIF-8. The sensor was fabricated by
deposition of a thin layer of the nanocomposite onto interdigitated
electrodes, and its sensing ability was investigated on exposure to
formaldehyde vapors. The obtained sensor showed sensitive and fast
responses to different concentrations of formaldehyde, and the sensor
response to formaldehyde was higher than toward some other VOCs, including
methanol, ethanol, acetone, and acetonitrile. Furthermore, because
of the hydrophobic nature of ZIF-8, the effect of relative humidity
on the gas-sensing performance was insignificant, which proves that
this sensor is suitable for use under humid conditions.
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