Novel volatile organic compound (VOC) sensor based on Ag-decorated porous single-crystalline ZnO nanosheets

To develop efficient and convenient sensing technology for volatile organic compound (VOCs) detection in residential buildings and process control in industries becomes necessary for human health. Various ZnO nanostructures have been employed in VOC detection for their good performance. Among those nanostructures, porous single-crystalline (PSC) ZnO nanosheets not only exhibited highly-sensitive performance but also possessed significantly long-term stability. However, the sensitivity might be further improved by modification noble metal elements. In present work, Ag nanoparticles have been decorated onto the PSC ZnO nanosheets by a sunlight induced solvent reduction method. The as-prepared products have been characterized by SEM, TEM, HRTEM and EDS. By combining the advantages of structure and modification, the sensitivity of the Ag-decorated PSC ZnO nanosheets is 8.8 times higher than that of the bare one. The single-crystalline structure exhibited low electric noise which may lower the detection limit of the sensor.