Solid-state chemical synthesis of mesoporous α-Fe2O3 nanostructures with enhanced xylene-sensing properties

•Mesoporous α-Fe2O3 nanostructures were prepared by a solid-state reaction.•Mesoporous α-Fe2O3 nanostructures showed enhanced xylene-sensing properties.•The special structure of sensors is beneficial to the enhancement of properties.

Uniform mesoporous α-Fe2O3 nanostructures have been handily prepared by a solid-state chemical reaction with the features of simple process, mild condition, and high yield. The as-prepared samples with 3-dimensional (3D) honeycomb structures consist of a number of small nanosheets. These mesoporous α-Fe2O3 nanostructures have been investigated for application as a sensor to detect various vapors. The experiment results have shown that the mesoporous α-Fe2O3 nanostructures exhibited improved performances for xylene-sensing in comparison with the α-Fe2O3 nanosheets. The response of mesoporous nanostructures to 1000 ppm xylene was up to 6 times higher than that of nanosheets. The mesoporous α-Fe2O3 nanostructures-based sensor had also wide detection range of 1–1000 ppm, good selectivity, and short response time to xylene. The enhancement of properties may be attributed to the large specific surface area and porous nanostructure.

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