Metal
oxide hollow spheres (MOHSs) with multicomponent metal elements
exhibit intriguing properties due to the synergistic effects of different
components. However, it remains a great challenge to develop a general
method to synthesize multicomponent MOHSs due to the different hydrolysis
and condensation rates of precursors for different metal oxides. Herein,
we demonstrate a general strategy for the controllable synthesis of
MOHSs with up to five metal elements by decomposition of metal-phenolic
coordination polymers (MPCPs), which are prepared by chelation of
tannic acid with various metal ions. After calcination to burn out
the organic component and induce heterogeneous contraction of MPCPs,
a series of MOHSs with multishell structure, high specific surface
area (55–171 m2/g), and crystalline mesoporous framework
are synthesized, including binary (Fe–Co, Ni–Zn, and
Ni–Co oxides), ternary (Ni–Co–Mn and Ni–Co–Zn
oxides), and quinary (Ni–Co–Fe–Cu–Zn oxides)
MOHSs. The gas sensing nanodevices based on quinary MOHSs show much
higher response (10.91) than those based on single component toward
50 ppm of ethanol at 80 °C with the response/recovery time of
85/160 s. The quinary oxides sensor also displays high selectivity
toward ethanol against other interfering gases (e.g., methanol, formadehyde,
toluene, methane, and hydrogen) and long-term stability (∼94.0%
after 4 weeks), which are extremely favorable for practical applications.