Electrospun metal oxide composite nanofibers gas sensors: A review

Abstract

Nanostructured materials have attracted considerable research interest over the recent decades because of their potential applications in nanoengineering and nanotechnology. On the other hand, the developments in nanotechnology are strongly dependent on the availability of new materials with novel and engineered morphologies. Among the novel nanomaterials reported thus far, composite nanofibers (NFs) have attracted considerable attention in recent years. In particular, metal oxide NFs have great potential for the development of gas sensors. Highly sensitive and selective gas sensors can be developed by using composite NFs owing to their large surface area and abundance of grain boundaries. In composite NFs, gas sensing properties can be enhanced greatly by tailoring the conduction channel and surface properties by compositional modifications using the synergistic effects of different materials and forming heterointerfaces. This review focuses on the gas sensing properties of composite NFs synthesized by an electrospinning (ES) method. The synthesis of the composite NFs by the ES method and the sensing mechanisms involved in different types of composite NFs are presented along with the future perspectives of composite NFs.