A heterojunction metal oxide semiconductor made of three
phases
of bismuth molybdate (BMO) (α, β, γ) was synthesized
by a one-pot process from a metal–organic framework (MOF) and
evaluated in a side-heated sensor for the detection of the toxic gas
triethylamine (TEA). An X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that
the heterostructure comprises 24.1% α-Bi2Mo3O12, 59.1% β-Bi2Mo2O9, and 16.8% γ-Bi2MoO6. Because of the
collapse of the MOF structure during the synthesis process, BMO nanorods
exhibited surface defects beneficial for gas sensing. Consequently,
the TEA sensing performance of αβγ-BMOMOF was significantly superior to αβγ-BMO prepared
instead with uncoordinated bismuth nitrate. When compared to single-phase
α-Bi2Mo3O12
MOF and
γ-Bi2MoO6
MOF sensors, the αβγ-BMOMOF heterojunction sensor exhibited high performance with a
limit of detection of 0.5 ppm and a response value of 58.5 to 100
ppm TEA at an optimal temperature of 340 °C. In addition, αβγ-BMOMOF nanorods exhibited excellent selectivity, long-term stability,
and short response and recovery times of 2 and 5 s, respectively.
Because of heterojunctions between the different phases, the αβγ-BMOMOF sensor had a higher electrical resistance in air and adsorbed
a larger quantity of oxygen anions capable of reacting with TEA. These
features of the heterostructure material explain its superior TEA
sensing performance. The low-cost and low-toxicity αβγ-BMOMOF sensor described here is a promising alternative for the
detection of volatile organic molecules.