Work function based gas sensing with benzene tricarboxylate linked metal organic frameworks — A comparison study

Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystalline materials that can be synthesized using various metal ions and organic linkers. Due to their great physical, chemical and geometrical variety, MOFs are very attractive for the potential application as selective gas sensing materials. In this study we examine work function based gas sensing properties of MOFs, consisting of the same organic linker, benzene tricarboxylate (BTC) and different metal ions (Co, Ni, Cd, Al), towards different linear alkanes and linear monohydric alcohols. The influence of size and polarity of the target gases, as well as the influence of oxygen and humidity on sensing performance is discussed.