Patternable ZIF-8 Poly-Porous Liquid Coating for Stable NH3 Sensing.

Ammonia (NH3), as a common gas in human society, is of great significance to industrial production, environmental protection, and human health. As a material with both solid pores and liquid fluidity, porous liquids (PLs) have great potential applications in gas adsorption, catalysis, storage, and sensing. However, the liquid nature of porous liquids limits their application scenarios and stability. Herein, the PLs consisting of ZIF-8 and ionic liquids (ILs) with vinyl are proposed, which can be rapidly polymerized under photoinitiator and ultraviolet light to form a poly-porous liquids (PPLs) coating with good mechanical properties. The effects of ZIF-8 content and ionic liquid ratio on the mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, and NH3 response of PPLs are further studied. Benefiting from the rich porosity of ZIF-8 and the excellent conductivity of ILs, PPL with a suitable ratio can achieve stable and high-sensitivity sensing for NH3. This PPL design paradigm establishes generalized guidelines for wearable gas sensors without requiring complex device encapsulation.