Hollow single-shell porous C-doped Co3O4 polyhedrons for enhanced xylene detection

Abstract

Hollow structure can provide more active sites and gas transmission channels for gas molecules due to their significant surface area and unique structure, showing significant performance in the field of gas sensing. Here, hollow single-shell porous C-doped Co₃O₄ polyhedrons are successfully prepared by high temperature calcination using Co-MOF/g-C₃N₄ precursors through a simple wet chemical method. The results show that the doping of carbon element promotes the formation of single-shell hollow porous structure. The performance test shows that the single-shell hollow porous C-doped Co₃O₄ polyhedrons structure exhibits high sensitivity (42.41–100 ppm), low detection limit (1 ppm) and excellent selectivity to xylene at 140 °C. The improved detection performance of the C-doped Co₃O₄ sensor for xylene is attributed to the hollow single-shell porous structure that increases the gas adsorption area, and the incorporation of carbon atoms regulates the electronic and chemical properties of the material. This process enhances the specific surface area of material, providing more active sites for the reaction process and exhibiting stronger catalytic activity towards xylene. This study proposes a unique method to construct hollow single-shell porous structure.