Facile engineering of metal–organic framework derived SnO2-ZnO composite based gas sensor toward superior acetone sensing performance

•A facile one-pot method was developed for the synthesis of bimetallic Sn/Zn-ZIF-8.•The doping of Sn2+ could help to maintain the morphology of MOF during pyrolysis.•The Sn/Zn-ZIF-8 based SnO2-ZnO composite is readily engineered for acetone sensing.•Considerable sensing response (140.27) and detection limit (0.82 ppb) was achieved.•The sensing mechanism was investigated in detail using in situ infrared spectroscopy.