Acetone in human exhaled breath is a key biomarker for diabetes, yet current metal oxide-based acetone sensors face challenges in detecting low-concentration acetone effectively at room temperature. Herein, we report a heterojunction by self-assembled peptide fibrillar nanoforests (SPNFs) and ZnO to fabricate an acetone sensor device. Among these materials, the well-ordered and uniformly arranged SPNFs offer a large surface area and a porous framework that promotes target gas adsorption, while also facilitating the homogeneous distribution of ZnO nanoparticles. Under room temperature and UV illumination, the SPNFs/ZnO-3 sensor demonstrates a response of 5.86 to 50 ppm acetone—over fourfold higher than that of pure ZnO. Furthermore, this sensor features a low detection limit and exhibits a response of 1.59 in the presence of 1 ppm acetone. The proposed methodology establishes a novel platform for the design and fabrication of gas sensors applicable to life health, environmental surveillance, and other fields, with excellent compatibility with existing microelectronic technology processes.
Li et al. (Sat,) studied this question.