Facile fabrication and enhanced acetic acid sensing properties of honeycomb-like porous ZnO

• Honeycomb-like porous ZnO architecture was fabricated by a facile solution-calcination process.
• The morphology exhibs honeycomb-like feature consisting of nanoparticles and holes.
• Porous structure is benefit for gas adsorption and desorption.
• The acetic acid enhanced sensing properties is owing to its porous microstructure.

Honeycomb-like porous ZnO architecture was fabricated by a facile solution-calcination process. The nanostructure and morphology of the porous sample were characterized by XRD, SEM and TEM techniques. This structure self-assembled by numerous irregular nanoparticles and holes, which provided more active centers and gas diffusion paths. The possible formation process was proposed as nucleation, growth and self-assembly of nanoparticles. The sensor based on this architecture shows the high response, fast response/recovery time and good selectivity toward glacial acetic acid (CH3COOH) at 370 °C. And the good reproducibility, long-term stability and liner relationship in the range of 2–1000 ppm make the sensor more practical. The results indicate that the sensor based on ZnO porous honeycomb-like shape can be used for detecting CH3COOH gas.