Peony‐like Na2Mg(CO3)2: a nanomaterial with the characteristic of high sensitivity and rapid response for the detection of alcohols.

Alcohol has a potential health risk to human health, so it is important to realise the rapid detection of alcohols. Based on this, the nano Na2Mg(CO3)2 was prepared by a simple hydrothermal method to establish a cataluminescence (CTL) gas sensor for alcohols. The Na2Mg(CO3)2with highly purified quality was characterised by scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectroscopy and the powder X‐ray diffraction. The results show that the nano Na2Mg(CO3)2 is a peony‐like substance with a large surface area, which will be beneficial to produce ultra‐weak chemiluminescence reaction between the detector and the material. The peony‐like Na2Mg(CO3)2 has good CTL response to alcohols (methanol, ethanol, n‐propanol and n‐butanol), showing high selectivity. The response time of Na2Mg(CO3)2 for four alcohols is between 1 and 2 s, which indicate that the material has the advantage of rapid response. The limit of detection of four alcohols defined as 3 N/S is about 7.91, 4.75, 6.69 and 8.10 mg/l, respectively. The optimum reaction conditions of the gas sensor based on nano Na2Mg(CO3)2 are mild and this nanomaterial can be used for alcohol detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]