Ce-doped ZnO dodecahedrons derived from MOF precursor for efficient detection of ethanolamine

Ethanolamine (EA) is a widely used volatile organic compound (VOC) in industry. However, its strong alkalinity and high volatility significantly increase the technical challenges of high-precision detection. This study employed the rare-earth element cerium (Ce) doping strategy to modify zinc oxide (ZnO) derived from ZIF-8, thereby preparing Ce-doped ZnO (Ce-ZnO), which can achieve high-performance detection of EA. The results demonstrate that 4 wt% Ce-ZnO exhibits the optimal gas-sensing response to EA, with the response value significantly increasing to 24.9. In addition, the 4 wt% Ce-ZnO exhibits significantly better response ability to EA in various test gases, with a reduction of 4 s and 5 s in response time and recovery time, respectively. The mechanism analysis shows that Ce doping significantly enhances the sensing performance of ZnO for EA through a dual synergistic effect of increased oxygen vacancies and enlarged specific surface area. Furthermore, this study employed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate the fundamental mechanism. The findings provide reliable technical insights and theoretical support for the development and performance optimization of high-performance EA gas sensors.