Organic-Based Chemiresistive Sensors for Detection of Water-Soluble Gases: Strategies and Roadmap for Enhancing Sensing Performance

Abstract

Traditional organic-based chemiresistive sensors have been a key area of research due to their portability, low power consumption, low cost, turnability, and possibility for miniaturization. However, their real-world applications have remained restricted by their low selectivity, low sensitivity, and low stability under demanding conditions, such as extreme temperature, humidity, and pH. As such, this review aims to lay the foundation for enhancing the performance of these gas sensors via chemical and physical modifications. To this end, an insight into the building blocks of chemiresistive gas sensors and the attributes of the main four gases (ammonia, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and nitrogen dioxide) under aqueous conditions are provided. Such features ultimately determine the enhancement strategy that is best suited to improve the chemiresistive gas sensors performance. Furthermore, this article provides an outlook into the current bottleneck in sensor development and its translation from lab to end-consumer use. Overall, this review aims to serve as a roadmap for developing next-generation, high performing chemiresistive gas sensors.