Unlocking new perspectives in acetone gas sensing by exploiting intriguing metal oxide-based composite materials

Precise volatile organic compounds detection is essential for non-invasive disease diagnosis, with breath analysis offering a simpler alternative. However, metal oxide-based sensors face challenges in selectivity and low-temperature performance. This study provides insights into optimizing these chemiresistors for the sensing of gaseous acetone. On one hand, novel nanocomposites were developed by successfully incorporating p-type multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/polyaniline (PANI) into a porous 3D network of n-type ZnO nanoparticles, synthesized by flame spray pyrolysis. On the other hand, the integration of SnO2 with perfluorinated Zn(II) 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin was explored. In both cases, promising results at low temperature were obtained.