Hydrangea-like mesoporous WO3 nanoflowers with crystalline framework for 3-hydroxy-2-butanone sensing

WO3 Nanoplates Decorated with Au and SnO2 Nanoparticles for Real-Time Detection of Foodborne Pathogens

Nowadays, metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors have diverse applications ranging from human health to smart agriculture with the development of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. However, high operating temperatures and an unsatisfactory detection capability (high sensitivity, fast response/recovery speed, etc.) hinder their integration into the IoT. Herein, a ternary heterostructure was prepared by decorating WO3 nanoplates with Au and SnO2 nanoparticles through a facial photochemical deposition method. This was employed as a sensing material for 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (3H-2B), a biomarker of Listeria monocytogenes. These Au/SnO2-WO3 nanoplate-based sensors exhibited an excellent response (Ra/Rg = 662) to 25 ppm 3H-2B, which was 24 times higher than that of pure WO3 nanoplates at 140 °C. Moreover, the 3H-2B sensor showed an ultrafast response and recovery speed to 25 ppm 3H-2B as well as high selectivity. These excellent sensing performances could be attributed to the rich Au/SnO2-WO3 active interfaces and the excellent transport of carriers in nanoplates. Furthermore, a wireless portable gas sensor equipped with the Au/SnO2-WO3 nanoplates was assembled, which was tested using 3H-2B with known concentrations to study the possibilities of real-time gas monitoring in food quality and safety.

Hierarchical Flower-like WO3 Nanospheres Decorated with Bimetallic Au and Pd for Highly Sensitive and Selective Detection of 3-Hydroxy-2-butanone Biomarker

Listeria monocytogenes, which is abundant in environment, can lead to many kinds of serious illnesses and even death. Nowadays, indirectly detecting the metabolite biomarker of L. monocytogenes, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, has been verified to be an effective way to evaluate the contamination of L. monocytogenes. However, this detection approach is still limited by sensitivity, selectivity, and ppb-level detection limit. Herein, low-cost and highly sensitive and selective 3-hydroxy-2-butanone sensors have been proposed based on the bimetallic AuPd decorated hierarchical flower-like WO₃ nanospheres. Notably, the 1.0 wt % AuPd-WO₃ based sensors displayed the highest sensitivity (R_a/R_g = 84 @ 1 ppm) at 250 °C. In addition, the sensors showed outstanding selectivity, rapid response/recovery (8/4 s @ 10 ppm), and low detection limit (100 ppb). Furthermore, the evaluation of L. monocytogenes with high sensitivity and specificity has been achieved using 1.0 wt % AuPd-WO₃ based sensors. Such a marvelous sensing performance benefits from the synergistic effect of bimetallic AuPd nanoparticles, which lead to thicker electron depletion layer and increased adsorbed oxygen species. Meanwhile, the unique hierarchical nanostructure of the flower-like WO₃ nanospheres benefits the gas-sensing performance. The AuPd-WO₃ nanosphere-based sensors exhibit a particular and highly selective method to detect 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, foreseeing a feasible route for the rapid and nondestructive evaluation of foodborne pathogens.

Three-Dimensional van der Waals Heterostructure-Based Nanocages as Supersensitive 3-Hydroxy-2-butanone Gas Sensors at Room Temperature

3-Hydroxy-2-butanone is one of the biomarkers of Listeria monocytogenes, which is quite important for the intelligent detection of 3H-2B. However, it is still a challenge to fabricate sensing materials obtaining excellent sensitivity and selectivity under the ppb-level detection limit. Herein, a plasma-assisted synthetic approach was proposed for the construction of hierarchical nanostructures and the simultaneous loading of TAPP-COFs, which could reduce interlayer interaction and convert the metallized sites on the surface of predesigned porphyrin rings into quantum nanoparticles. These multichannel pathways of Co-TAPP-COFs@SnO₂@MWCNTs nanocages contributed to the gas adsorption and diffusion, thus enhancing the sensing behavior. The nanocages exhibited a highly specific sensing performance toward 3H-2B with the highest sensitivity (R_a/R_g = 100.9 to 0.5 ppm) in all reported sensing materials. The 3H-2B sensor presented outstanding long-term stability, and the detection limit was 100 ppb at room temperature. Furthermore, the synthesized materials were integrated into the sensing module connecting to an Internet of Things platform, providing rapid and real-time detection of 3H-2B. We also applied machine learning methods to analyze the nanocage-based sensors and found that the combined effects of modified sites on the heterointerfaces contributed to the improvement of the sensing performance.

Enhanced Response for Foodborne Pathogens Detection by Au Nanoparticles Decorated ZnO Nanosheets Gas Sensor

Listeria monocytogenes is a hazardous foodborne pathogen that is able to cause acute meningitis, encephalitis, and sepsis to humans. The efficient detection of 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, which has been verified as a biomarker for the exhalation of Listeria monocytogenes, can feasibly evaluate whether the bacteria are contained in food. Herein, we developed an outstanding 3-hydroxy-2-butanone gas sensor based on the microelectromechanical systems using Au/ZnO NS as a sensing material. In this work, ZnO nanosheets were synthesized by a hydrothermal reaction, and Au nanoparticles (~5.5 nm) were prepared via an oleylamine reduction method. Then, an ultrasonic treatment was carried out to modified Au nanoparticles onto ZnO nanosheets. The XRD, BET, TEM, and XPS were used to characterize their morphology, microstructure, catalytic structure, specific surface area, and chemical composition. The response of the 1.0% Au/ZnO NS sensors vs. 25 ppm 3-hydroxy-2-butanone was up to 174.04 at 230 °C. Moreover, these sensors presented fast response/recovery time (6 s/7 s), great selectivity, and an outstanding limit of detection (lower than 0.5 ppm). This work is full of promise for developing a nondestructive, rapid and practical sensor, which would improve Listeria monocytogenes evaluation in foods.

Radial ZnO nanorods decorating Co3O4 nanoparticles for highly selective and sensitive detection of the 3-hydroxy-2-butanone biomarker

Indirect monitoring of Listeria monocytogenes (LM) via a gas sensor that can detect the bacterial metabolite 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (3H-2B) is a newly emerged strategy. However, such sensors are required simultaneously endow with outstanding selectivity, high sensitivity, and ppb-level detection limit, which remains technologically challenging. Herein, we have developed highly selective and sensitive 3H-2B sensors that consist of zinc oxide nanorods decorated with cobaltosic oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NRs/Co₃O₄ NPs), which have been synthesized by combined optimized hydrothermal and annealing process. Specifically, the ZnO NRs/Co₃O₄ NPs exhibit ultrahigh sensitivity to 5 ppm 3H-2B (R_a/R_g = 550 at 260 °C). The sensor prototypes enable detection as low as 10 ppb 3H-2B, show excellent long-term stability, and present remarkable selectivity through interfering selectivity survey and principal component analysis (PCA). Such outstanding sensing performance is attributed to the modulated electron depletion layer by n-p heterojunctions and abundant gas diffusion pathways via the radial architecture, which was verified via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy test, Mott-Schottky measurement, and ultraviolet-visible absorption analysis. Our highly selective and sensitive ZnO NRs/Co₃O₄ NPs have the potential in the real-time detection of 3H-2B biomarker.

Bimetallic Au@Pt Nanocrystal Sensitization Mesoporous α-Fe2O3 Hollow Nanocubes for Highly Sensitive and Rapid Detection of Fish Freshness at Low Temperature

In this work, we present a new metal oxide semiconductor gas sensor for detecting trimethylamine (TMA) by bimetal Au@Pt-modified α-Fe₂O₃ hollow nanocubes (NCs) as sensing materials. The structure and morphological characteristics of Au@Pt/α-Fe₂O₃ were evaluated through multiple analyses, and their gas-sensitive performance was investigated. Compared with the pristine α-Fe₂O₃ NC sensor, the sensor based on Au@Pt/α-Fe₂O₃ NCs exhibited faster response time (5 s) and higher response (R_a/R_g = 32) toward 100 ppm TMA gas at a lower temperature (150 °C). Furthermore, we also assessed the Au@Pt/α-Fe₂O₃ NC sensor for detecting the freshness of Larimichthys crocea which have been observed by headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The high performance of the Au@Pt/α-Fe₂O₃ NCs is attributed to the special hollow morphology with a high specific surface area (212.9 m²/g) and the synergistic effect of the Au@Pt bimetal. The Au@Pt/α-Fe₂O₃ sensor shows promising application prospects in estimating seafood freshness on the spot.

Ppb-Level Butanone Sensor Based on ZnO-TiO2-rGO Nanocomposites

In this paper, ZnO-TiO2-rGO nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The morphology and structure of the synthesized nanomaterials were characterized by SEM, XRD, HRTEM, and XPS. Butanone is a typical ketone product. The vapors are extremely harmful once exposed, triggering skin irritation in mild cases and affecting our breathing in severe cases. In this paper, the gas-sensing properties of TiO2, ZnO, ZnO-TiO2, and ZnO-TiO2-rGO nanomaterials to butanone vapor were studied. The optimum operating temperature of the ZnO-TiO2-rGO sensor is 145 °C, which is substantially lower than the other three sensors. The selectivity for butanone vapor is greatly improved, and the response is 5.6 times higher than that of other organic gases. The lower detection limit to butanone can reach 63 ppb. Therefore, the ZnO-TiO2-rGO sensor demonstrates excellent gas-sensing performance to butanone. Meanwhile, the gas-sensing mechanism of the ZnO-TiO2-rGO sensor to butanone vapor was also analyzed.