A ZIF-8-based ternary heterostructure gas sensor for monitoring benzene micro-leakage and autonomous robotic inspection.

Benzene (C6H6) is a volatile organic compound with strong carcinogenicity, and achieving its rapid and sensitive detection is of great significance for environmental protection and the prevention and control of public health risks. In this study, a ternary heterostructure gas-sensing material composed of Pd-modified ZnO@ZIF-8 was proposed. The pre-concentration effect of ZIF-8, the catalytic sensitization of Pd nanoparticles, and the construction of the Schottky barrier at the Pd/ZIF-8 interface collectively endow the sensor with excellent detection performance. This sensor exhibits extremely high sensitivity at 375℃, with a rapid detection speed (response/recovery time of 2 s/2 s) and an extremely low detection limit (capable of reaching the ppb level). Meanwhile, based on this sensor, a pipeline condition monitoring platform was developed. On the mobile end, online monitoring of benzene leakage and graded early warning were realized. Furthermore, this detection system is integrated with robots. Through a combined olfactory and visual detection method, it enables intelligent inspection of the risks of gaseous and liquid benzene leakage. Therefore, the proposed Pd-ZnO@ZIF-8 sensor and its integrated monitoring platform offer a reliable and efficient solution for real-time benzene leakage detection, holding great promise for enhancing industrial safety and public health protection.