Carbon (C) materials, which process excellent electrical conductivity and high carrier mobility, are promising sensing materials as active units for gas sensors. However, structural agglomeration caused by chemical processes results in a small resistance change and low sensing response. To address the above issues, structure-derived carbon-coated tin dioxide (SnO2) nanoparticles having distinct core-shell morphology with a 3D net-like structure and highly uniform size are prepared by careful synthesis and fine structural design. The optimum carbon-coated SnO2 nanoparticles (SnO2 /C)-based gas sensor exhibits a low working temperature, excellent selectivity and fast response-recovery properties. In addition, the SnO2/C-based gas sensor can maintain a sensitivity to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) of 3 after being cycled 4 times at 140 degrees C for, suggesting its good long-term stability. The structural integrity, good synergistic properties, and high gas-sensing performance of SnO2/C render it a promising sensing material for advanced gas sensors. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.