A Critical Review of the Use of Graphene-Based Gas Sensors

Abstract

The employment of graphene for multifunctional uses has been a cornerstone in sensing technology. Due to its excellent electrochemical properties, graphene has been used in its pure and composite forms to detect target molecules over a wide range of surfaces. The adsorption process on the graphene-based sensors has been studied in terms of the change in resistance and capacitance values for various industrial and environmental applications. This paper highlights the performance of graphene-based sensors for detecting different kinds of domestic and industrial gases. These graphene-based gas sensors have achieved enhanced output in terms of sensitivity and working range due to specific experimental parameters, such as elevated temperature, presence of particular gas-specific layers and integration with specific nanomaterials that assist with the adsorption of gases. The presented research work has been classified based on the physical nature of graphene used in conjugation with other processed materials. The detection of five different types of gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulphide (H2S), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ethanol (C2H5OH) has been shown in the paper. The challenges of the current graphene-based gas sensors and their possible remedies have also been showcased in the paper.