Formaldehyde, a common illegal additive in aquatic products, poses a threat to people's health and lives. In this study, a novel metal oxide semiconductor gas sensor based on AuPd-modified WO3 nanosheets (NSs) had been developed for the highly efficient detection of formaldehyde. WO3 NS modified with 2.0% AuPd nanoparticles showed a higher response (Ra/Rg = 94.2) to 50 ppm of formaldehyde at 210 °C, which was 36 times more than the pristine WO3 NS. In addition, the AuPd/WO3 gas sensor had a relatively short response/recovery time of 10 s/9 s for 50 ppm of formaldehyde at 210 °C, with good immunity to other interfering gases and good stability for formaldehyde. The excellent gas-sensitive performance was attributed to the chemical sensitization of Au, the electronic sensitization of Pd, and the synergistic effect of bimetallic AuPd, which facilitated the recognition and response of formaldehyde molecules. Additionally, the high sensitivity and broad application prospect of the 2.0% AuPd/WO3 NS composite-based sensor in real sample detection were also confirmed by using the above sensor for the detection of formaldehyde in aquatic products such as squid and shrimp.
Keywords: AuPd nanoparticles; WO3 nanosheets; aquatic products; formaldehyde detection; gas sensor.