B3LYP density functional is utilized for probing the effect of decorating Al, Ga, and In on the sensing performance of a boron phosphide nanotube (BPNT) in detecting the 2-chloroethanol (CHE) molecule. We predict that the interaction of pure BPNT with CHE is physisorption, and the sensing response (SR) of BPNT is approximately 6.3. The adsorption energy of CHE is about − 26.3 to − 91.1, − 96.6, and − 100.3 kJ/mol, when the Al, Ga, and In metals are decorated on the BPNT surface, respectively. This indicates that the decorated metals significantly strength the interaction. Also, the corresponding SR meaningfully rises to 19.4, 41.0, and 93.4, indicating that by increasing the atomic number of metals, the sensitivity is increased. Therefore, we found that In-decorating much more increases the sensitivity of BPNT toward CHE. The SR of metal-decorated BPNT decreases in the water solvent. Our theoretical results further support the fact that the metal-decorated BP nanostructures have practical applications.