A bottom-up sonication-assisted synthesis of Zn-BTC MOF nanosheets and the ppb-level acetone detection of their derived ZnO nanosheets.

Two-dimensional metal-organic framework nanosheets, as a new member of the two-dimensional family, are attracting increasing research interest in various fields. Herein, a uniform two-dimensional Zn-BTC MOF nanosheet with a thickness of 14 ± 2 nm was synthesized through a simple, efficient, and scalable sonication-assisted bottom-up strategy. The ZnO nanoparticles were used as the Zn source, which can be corroded by H 3 BTC to form Zn-BTC MOFs under sonication conditions. The morphologies of Zn-BTC MOFs can be modulated from nanosheets to nanorods by changing the content of H 3 BTC. The crystal growth process is dominated by the thermodynamics of sonication and the stoichiometric ratio of the generated Zn2+ and H 3 BTC, and the crystal growth mechanism was elaborated by the oriented attachment. Consequently, a chemiresistive gas sensor based on Zn-BTC nanosheet derivatives was fabricated to detect ppb-level acetone. Notably, the experimental detection limit of concentration could reach as low as 100 ppb of acetone due to the functional surface, and the dynamic response linearity reached 99 %. Our work explored a new method of synthesizing two-dimensional Zn-BTC MOF, and the fabricated gas sensing device demonstrated promising potential in gas sensing fields. [Display omitted] • The Zn-BTC MOF nanosheets are firstly prepared through a bottom-up sonication-assisted strategy. • A high-performance gas sensor with ppb-level acetone detection was designed. • The high-performance originate from the porous structure and functional surface of derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]