A novel MIL-53(Cr-Fe)/Ag/CNT nanocomposite based resistive sensor for sensing of volatile organic compounds

P Producing a thin film for resistive sensors by using nanocomposite and their particle size is important for tuning sensitivity, selectivity and enhancing stability of the sensors under ambient conditions. In this work, MIL-53(Cr-Fe) nanoparticles as a bimetallic type of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) were synthesized by a sonochemical method. These nanoparticles were used to produce a MIL-53(Cr-Fe)/Ag/CNT ternary nanocomposite to fabricate a resistive gas sensor device detect volatile organic compounds such as methanol, ethanol, and isopropanol under environmental conditions (10% relative humidity and 25 °C). This ternary nanocomposite shows high response to polar VOCs, specifically methanol. The lowest detection limit is 30.5 ppm and it is for methanol. The nanocomposite was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and specific surface area analysis. To our best knowledge, this is first report on the synthesis of this type of ternary nanocomposite and its using to detect the VOCs.