Novel sugar-coated haws-sticklike Au/ZrO₂ nanofibers were fabricated by a solvothermal method using a simple precipitation approach. The nanostructure, surface morphology, and elementary composition of the Au/ZrO₂ nanofibers were explored by X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The unique sugar-coated haws sticklike structure with multiple crystal faces (111) as active sites enhanced greatly cataluminescence property for propanal, and the developed propanal sensor based on Au/ZrO₂ nanofibers demonstrated good analytical characteristics with super-fast detection, high sensitivity, and selectivity. The response and recovery time were 1 and 5 s, respectively, the useable linear range was 0.181–38.8 mg/m³ with a low limit of detection of 0.060 mg/m³, and the stability was proved to be fairly excellent for at least 120 days. Besides, the sensor was successfully applied to the analysis of propanal in real samples, and satisfactory recoveries (90.1–109%) with RSDs of 2.6–8.4% were achieved. Moreover, the cataluminescence sensing mechanism was further investigated by density functional theory and GC/MS analysis. The developed methodology has broad application prospects for the detection of propanal at low concentrations.

新型糖衣山楂棒状 Au/ZrO ₂纳米纤维是通过溶剂热法使用简单的沉淀方法制备的。通过X射线衍射、傅里叶变换红外光谱、扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜、N ₂吸附-解吸等温线和能量色散光谱研究了Au/ZrO ₂纳米纤维的纳米结构、表面形貌和元素组成。以多晶面（111）为活性位点的独特糖衣山楂棒状结构大大增强了丙醛的催化发光性能，开发了基于Au/ZrO _{2 的}丙醛传感器纳米纤维表现出良好的分析特性，具有超快速检测、高灵敏度和选择性。响应时间和恢复时间分别为 1 s 和 5 s，可用线性范围为 0.181–38.8 mg/m ³，检测下限为 0.060 mg/m ³，至少在120 天。此外，该传感器成功应用于实际样品中丙醛的分析，获得了令人满意的回收率 (90.1-109%)，RSD 为 2.6-8.4%。此外，通过密度泛函理论和 GC/MS 分析进一步研究了催化发光传感机制。所开发的方法在检测低浓度丙醛方面具有广阔的应用前景。