Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com Current Opinion in

ScienceDirect Environmental Science & Health

Emerging nano-enabled gas sensor for environmental

monitoring – Perspectives and open challenges
Urmila Chakraborty1, Ajeet Kaushik2, Ganga Ram Chaudhary1,3 and
Yogendra Kumar Mishra4

Abstract
Proper vigilance on the levels of various gases of concern, Keywords
Advanced nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Gas sensors,
especially the toxic ones, is vital for reducing the risk of envi-
Sensing technology.
ronmental damage. This impels the demand for highly accu-
rate and adequate gas-sensing systems, which are in demand Introduction
but not in practice. This gap can be filled by fifth-generation Timely and accurate monitoring of the levels of various
nano-enabled gas sensors, which can offer room-temperature gases present in the environment is crucial. The envi-
sensing, flexibility, high-selectivity, low-cost, self-powered ronmental gaseous pollutants majorly include volatile
operation, humidity resistance, and portable size. These fea- organic compounds (VOCs), CO2, CO, NOx, SOx, Cl2,
tures are the key requirements for integrating gas sensors into O3, H2S, and SF6 [1e3]. These gases are released into
modern Internet-of-things systems. This perspective highlights the environment mainly due to human activities such as
trends and progressions (2020–2023) in developing tailored industrial emissions, biomass burning, waste/garbage
nanomaterials to fabricate cutting-edge gas sensors for high burning, automobile exhaust, war emissions, and gas
performance in the desired manner and conditions, for leakages from mines. Exposure to such gaseous pollut-
example, point-of-care, and point-of-location testing. The ants can result in minor as well as adverse health com-
challenges associated with such materials and the plications, necessitating the need to have vigilance on
scientific endeavors to address such issues have also been their levels. Apart from detecting toxic gases, moni-
discussed. toring other gases such as O2, H2, and N2 is extremely
important. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has
Addresses
1
Department of Chemistry and Centre of Advanced Studies in revolutionized sensing technology by empowering
Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India remote-sensing applications including real-time data
2
NanoBioTech Laboratory, Department of Environment of Environ- acquirement and analysis [4]. In the recent years, the
mental Engineering, Florida Polytechnique University, Lakeland, FL evolution of Internet of things (IoT) has resulted in a
33805, USA
3 paradigm transformation in the field of gas sensors by
Sophisticated Analytical Instrumentation Facility (SAIF)/CIL, Panjab
University, Chandigarh 160014, India enabling the emergence of low-cost sensors for air-
4
Smart Materials, NanoSYD, Mads Clausen Institute, University of quality monitoring (LCAQ), several units of which can
Southern Denmark, Alsion 2, 6400, Sønderborg, Denmark be deployed to strengthen the existing air-quality
monitoring network [5]. Moreover, the development of
Corresponding authors: Chakraborty, Urmila (urmilachem13@gmail.
com); Mishra, Yogendra Kumar ([email protected])
5G has made the connection with IoT much more facile
(Mishra Y.K.) [6*]. Additionally, the technology of artificial intelli-
gence of things has been realized that enables the
collection of sensory information by the LCAQ sensors
Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 2024, and its wireless transmission to the cloud [7*].
37:100532
This review comes from a themed issue on Environmental Health Several commercial air-monitoring equipment and sys-
2024: Emerging nanomaterials and advanced techniques for
tems have been developed over the past years and are
sensing and removal of toxic gases for environmental and health
applications being used to keep a real-time check on the levels of
hazardous gaseous pollutants. However, the accuracy of
Edited by Jai Prakash, Shuhui Sun and Marina N. Rumyantseva
such LCAQ sensors in ambient environments can show
For complete overview of the section, please refer to the article
substantial variation [5]. Such uncertainties can arise due
collection - Environmental Health 2024: Emerging nanomaterials and
advanced techniques for sensing and removal of toxic gases for to the impact of conditions, such as the presence of
environmental and health applications chemical interfering species, humidity, and temperature,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2024.100532 which vary according to geographical locations [5]. Con-
stant progress is being made toward the development of
2468-5844/© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an
open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons. high-end, ameliorate gas sensors. Recent research is
org/licenses/by/4.0/). focused on designing and developing smart gas sensors,

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2 Environmental Health 2024: Emerging nanomaterials and advanced techniques for sensing and removal of toxic gases

which can showcase advanced features and overcome past key features of various recently developed materials for
challenges associated with environmental gas sensors advanced gas sensors have been included in Table 1.
[8*]. Significantly important work is being performed to
achieve the development of improved, light-active, Nanomaterials for developing smart gas-
portable, room-temperature/low-temperature, wearable, sensing systems
humidity-resistant, IoT-enabled, multiple gas-selective, MXene-based gas sensors
and dog-nose-mimicking gas sensors. In recent years, two-dimensional (2D) MXenes have
emerged as significant materials for the development of
In this focused perspective, we are exploring advanced advanced gas sensors. These materials have many
nano-enabled gas sensors, with a major focus on the beneficial features such as high signal-to-noise ratio,
emerging state-of-art nanomaterials (MXenes, carbon- room-temperature sensing, great electroconductivity,
based materials, metal-oxides, transition-metal dichal- and multifaceted surface chemistry [32]. The MXenes
cogenides [TMDCs], and metaleorganic frameworks have shown promising applications in quantum sensing,
[MOFs]) to design such smart gas-sensing systems for highly sensitive pressure sensors, and fabric-based flex-
environmental monitoring evolved over the recent years ible electronic devices [33e35]. However, the low
(2020e2023). The research articles included in this chemical stability of these materials (the tendency of
review have been searched by scientific engines oxidation and hydration in humid conditions) is a major
including Scopus, Science Direct, PubMed, and Google obstacle to their practical applications [36], and the
Scholar. Appropriate keywords have been used for researchers are focused on overcoming this challenge by
searching the articles. The articles have been selected implementing various modifications. Strategies such as
from the timeline of 2020e2023 and are segregated decorating the surface of MXenes with a TiO2 layer to
according to the scope of the review. We have also halt the oxidation-induced degradation of MXenes have
highlighted the challenges that still need to be attended been adopted [9]. The modification of MXenes with
to in the field of nanomaterial development for envi- some antioxidants such as L-ascorbic acid has also been
ronmental gas sensors. The overall concept of this an effective route in enhancing the stability of
review article is depicted in Figure 1. The details and MXenes [37].

Figure 1

Advanced nanomaterials for the development of smart technology-driven environmental gas sensors.

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www.sciencedirect.com

Table 1

Some recently developed nanoplatforms for advanced environmental gas sensors.

Sensing material Type of gas Type of sensor Key features Ref.

Cr2O3/TiO2/Ti3C2Tx Triethylamine Conductometric Remarkable chemical stability, selective, rapid, room- [9]
temperature detection
Nanocomposite of SnO2 nanofibers/L-ascorbate NO2 Chemiresistive and Self-powered, flexible, humidity-tolerant, high-response, [10*]
treated MXene piezoelectric pressure room-temperature detection, pressure-sensitive
sensor
FTOS-modified Ti3C2Tx VOCs acetone Chemiresistive Superhydrophobic, highly sensitive, flexible [11]
and ethanol
Ti3C2Tx/WS2 nanoflakes NO2 Chemiresistive Paper-based, humidity-tolerant, room-temperature detection [12]
Pd NP-coated rGO graphene gas sensor H2 Chemiresistive Flexible, foldable, IoT-enabled, room-temperature detection, [7*]
mechanical robustness
Laser-induced graphene NOx Chemiresistive Moisture resistant, ultra-low LOD, excellent selectivity, [13]
stretchable, room-temperature detection
Nanoporous GO-membrane-modified ZnO MWs H2 Chemiresistive High-selectivity, rapid-sensing, room-temperature detection, [14]
ultra-low power requirement
CuO/Cu2O-NP-decorated multi-walled CNTs H2S Chemiresistive Relatively low-temperature sensing (150 C) [15]
Zn2SO4/rGO nanocomposite NH3 Chemiresistive Room-temperature detection [16]
ZIF-8-derived ZnTi/LDH/rGO NO2 Chemiresistive Room-temperature detection [17]

Nano-enabled sensors for environmental monitoring Chakraborty et al.

GO/MoS2 (in-situ reduction to form rGO) NO2 Chemiresistive Detection at ambient temperature, selective, sensitive, [18]
washable, IoT-enabled
Single-walled CNT film NO2 Chemiresistive Self-powered, flexible, highly selective and sensitive, [19]
wireless communication via BLE module
Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 2024, 37:100532

ND-grain-boundary-covered CNTs H2 Chemiresistive Long-term stability, room-temperature detection, rapid [20]

recovery
Detonation-ND-doped WS2 H2 Chemiresistive High selectivity and stability, ultra-high response, rapid [21]
response/recovery
MoSe2 nanosheet NH3 and NO2 FET Conjoined with human skin, low-cost, rapid, IoT-enabled [22*]
WSe2 nanotriangles NO2 and triethylamine Photoelectric Room-temperature detection, high-response, full recovery [23]
under UV light
W2S-decorated cellulose nanofiber–templated H2S Chemiresistive Ultra-low power consumption, rapid speed, highly [24]
CuO heterostructures responsive
Pd/SnO2 Benzene Chemiresistive Highly selective, low-cost, humidity-tolerant, integrated into a [25*]
battery-driven, compact hand-held device
ZnMn2O4 NPs H2S Cataluminescence Rapid low-temperature detection [26]
(Sr0.6Bi0.305)2Bi2O7/ZnO H2S Chemiresistive Low-temperature detection and low humidity dependence [27]
PDMS-coated Pd NPs/TiO2 nanotubes H2 Chemiresistive Humidity-resistant, long-term stability, room-temperature [28]
detection
Alumina nanomembrane –modified SnO2 nanowires NO2 Chemiresistive Humidity resistance [29]
Ni-MOF-74 NO2 Chemiresistive Near-zero-power, highly selective, low-temperature [30*]
detection
Nanocomposite of MOF-derived SnO2/MoSe2 nanoflower CO Chemiresistive Rapid-response, room-temperature sensing, humidity- [31]
resistant

Abbreviations: rGO, reduced graphene oxide; ND, nanodiamond; MOF, metal–organic framework; NP, nanoparticle; CNT, carbon nanotube; VOC, volatile organic compound; MW, microwire; IoT, Internet of
things; FTOS, fluoroalkylsilane; PDMS, polydimethylsiloxane; LOD, limit of detection; BLE, bluetooth low energy.

3
4 Environmental Health 2024: Emerging nanomaterials and advanced techniques for sensing and removal of toxic gases

Figure 2

Some recently developed nano-enabled advanced gas sensors: (a) Superhydrophobic stable FTOS modified Ti3C2Tx for the detection of oxygen-
containing VOCs, Reproduced with permission [11], Copyright 2020 American Chemical Society. (b) Dog-nose capillary structure mimicking graphene
nanoscroll-based NO2 sensor, Reproduced with permission [40], Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society. (c) Textile-based machine-learning-enabled
graphene-based sensor for H2 gas detection and energy-harvesting-assisted IoT application, Reproduced with permission [7*], Copyright 2021 Elsevier
Ltd. (d) Alumina nanomembrane modified SnO2 nanowires based humidity-tolerant NO2 gas sensor, Reproduced with permission [29], Copyright 2021
Elsevier B.V. (e) Hand-held Pd/SnO2 device for extremely selective detection of benzene from gaseous mixtures [25], open access under Creative
Commons CC BY. (f) MOF-derived SnO2/WSe2 nanoflower nanocomposite–based room-temperature CO gas sensor, Reproduced with permission [31],
Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V. Abbreviations: FTOS, fluoroalkylsilane; MOF, metal–organic framework; VOC, volatile organic compound.

Based on this concept, Gasso and Mahajan recently (FTOS). The hydrophobic MXenes not only exhibited
developed a self-powered humidity-resistant flexible superior stability but also showed high sensitivity
NO2 piezoelectric pressure sensor and gas sensor. toward VOCs (acetone and ethanol) [11] (Figure 2a).
Sodium L-ascorbate-treated stable MXene (Ti3C2Tx)
was combined with SnO2 nanofiber, and because of such Carbon-nanomaterial-based gas sensors
interfacial engineering, the sensor showed significant Carbon-based materials, mainly carbon nanotubes
enhancement in pressure sensitivity as well as NO2 (CNTs), graphene, graphene oxide (GO), and reduced
detection at room temperature [10*]. To combat the graphene oxide (rGO) have extraordinary mechanical and
drawback associated with the stability of MXenes, Chen electrical properties and have shown prominent applica-
et al. adopted the strategy to develop super hydropho- bility to develop compact wearable and room-
bic, stable, flexible MXenes by functionalizing the temperature gas sensors [38,39]. Graphene-based nano-
Ti3C2Tx surface with the molecules of fluoroalkylsilane structures such as nanoscrolls have been utilized to

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 Nano-enabled sensors for environmental monitoring Chakraborty et al. 5

develop gas sensors such as those mimicking the dog- resistance depending on the local chemical potential.
nose capillary structure [40e42] (Figure 2b). Capman Unlike metal oxides, CNTs can offer low-temperature
et al. [43] focused on improving the selectivity of the operation and low power consumption, which have
electronic noses, and for this purpose, they utilized the inspired researchers to utilize these materials in smart
adaptable and selective behavior of graphene. Graphene devices for gas-sensing applications. The sensitivity and
can be functionalized with several chemical receptors to selectivity of these CNTs are often improved by func-
fabricate a machine-learning-enabled gas sensor. The tionalizing them with polymers, noble metal NPs, and
authors used graphene-based varactor arrays for the rapid metal oxides [46]. Recently, these materials have also
and selective detection of different concentrations of been applied in commercial electronic noses. However,
multiple VOCs. Each array comprised 108 sensors, which the practical applications of such types of sensors have
were functionalized with thirty-six chemical receptors to yet not been fully evaluated. Peters et al. [47] checked
achieve cross-selectivity. The sensor offered rapid mea- the efficiency of such CNT-based hand-held electronic-
surement with the acquisition of multiplexer data from nose devices (Smell Inspector by Smart Nanotubes
all 108 sensors within tens of seconds. The authors in- Technologies). The sensor consists of four chips, with
tegrated machine-learning-based signal analysis (Bagging each of them containing 16 independent gas sensors.
Random Forest), which showed that the device could The device also contains temperature and humidity
distinguish between octane, methyl ethyl ketone, sensors. The authors conducted a series of experiments
toluene, hexanal, and ethanol with 98% accuracy. The where they exposed the instrument to ppm-level con-
addition of 1-octene, which is structurally similar to centrations of four VOCs having different polarities and
octane, resulted in the achievement of 89% accu- scent profiles. The device was connected to the USB
rate results. port of the PC, and the detection, annotation, and
digitization of the odors was done using the Smell
Traditional machine learning involves human guidance Annotator software. The device offered a response in
to the machine for selecting the type of feature, whereas the 0.5e8.0 ppm range and 0.1e0.5 ppm detection
feature extraction is fully automated in the case of deep limit. The VOCs were identified according to their
learning (DL) [44]. In DL, the human brain’s learning scent patterns. However, they could not achieve suffi-
process is mimicked using artificial neural networks cient reproducibility using the sensor. Also, the sensor
(ANN). Recently, Hwang et al. [45*] presented a DL- response was diminished over the time of several
enabled technology for the in situ early-stage determi- months, possibly due to sensor poisoning. This work
nation of the composition of mixed chemical vapor indicates that such commercially available sensors can
(without target dilution or condensation of the original offer low-level room-temperature detection and find
vapor) using AI-enabled arrayed nanoelectrodes based interesting applications in security services, food in-
on multiplexed DNA-functionalized graphene. Seven dustries, healthcare, and environmental monitoring.
graphene-based ssDNA-sensor arrays were constructed However, the limitations associated with the currently
on a single chip, and the sensor was used to detect in- available instrument make it necessary to have future
dividual H2S, NH3, NO, and NO2 gases and the mixture improvements in the sensor technology.
of these gases. The classification of gases with feature
selection was performed using the Boruta algorithm. Carbon-based materials have also been considered
The sensor exhibited high sensitivity and was highly suitable for potential application in flexible gas sensors.
selective. The feature of selection analysis enabled the In this direction, Zhu et al. presented the development
achievement of 99% and above recognition rates for of a machine-learning-enabled, three-dimensional,
mixed gases at low humidity and 98% and above in foldable, and flexible H2 sensor. They achieved rapid
humid environments. The authors utilized PyTorch patterning of rGO on different flexible substrates using
1.10.0 and Python 3.7 frameworks to build a one- an inkjet printing technique. The sensitivity toward H2
dimensional (1D) convolutional neural network (CNN) was induced by coating the rGO with a 2-nm-thick layer
architecture. This DL technique was used for the of Pd nanoparticles (NPs) by applying e-beam evapo-
classification of gases from a chemical vapors mixture by ration. The scientific study of the statistical models and
convolution-based extraction of features during the algorithms was performed using principal component
process of data scanning for 1D vector-type data. The analysis (PCA). The IoT (Bluetooth wireless network)
1D CNN offered almost perfect discrimination of the was powered by the triboelectric textile for environ-
chemical vapor’s compositional state under high- and mental humidity and temperature that calibrated the
low-humidity conditions. This sensor can find promising graphene gas sensor and induced the initial resistance
applications in breath analysis. [7*] (Figure 2c). The combination of carbon-based and
metal-oxide-based materials has been reported to pro-
CNTs are being used as promising candidates for elec- vide higher selectivity, sensitivity, and room-
tronic noses due to their nanoscale dimensions, high temperature efficiency to the gas sensor as than the
surface-area-to-volume ratio, and their change in individual components. The benefits of such synergistic

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6 Environmental Health 2024: Emerging nanomaterials and advanced techniques for sensing and removal of toxic gases

influence were demonstrated by Rasch et al. through Several researchers have also devoted strong focus on
the work where they utilized nanoporous GO membrane overcoming the high-temperature requirement by the
as a molecular sieve to ameliorate the selectivity of ZnO metal-oxide-based gas sensors and are recently taking
microwires (MWs) toward the detection of H2 gas. The interest in developing room-temperature photoactive
sensor required 20e200 nW power consumption and gas sensors. Light activation of metal oxides promotes
offered highly selective H2 detection at room tempera- the photogeneration of free holeeelectron pairs without
ture [14]. Nanodiamond (ND) also belongs to the the requirement of high temperature and thus
family of carbon-based nanomaterials, and it has gained a enhancing the speed and sensitivity of the sensor even
prestigious reputation in the fields of advanced quan- at room temperature. The surface reactivity of the metal
tum sensors, especially for biosensing applications oxides and gas adsorption/desorption are also amelio-
[48,49]. However, recently ND has also been explored rated due to light activation [60*], thus making the
to devise room-temperature gas-sensing systems. Huang metal-oxide nanomaterials propitious for light-driven
et al. utilized ultra-nanocrystalline diamond for the first gas-sensing systems. MOS-based electronic noses are
time as the carbon source for fabricating multi-walled well established in the field of gas sensors. Generally,
CNTs. The CNTs were decorated with grain boundaries electronic-nose systems comprise of multiple gas sensor
of the ND, which contributed numerous sites for arrays, with each sensor having different reactivity
binding H2 gas. Hence, the highly stable ND-grain- toward a particular gas. However, these multi-sensor
boundary-covered CNT (NDCNT)-based sensor electronic noses are associated with drawbacks such as
offered efficient room-temperature detection of H2 gas high cost, high power consumption, and a rise in the
with rapid recovery due to the H2 spillover mechanism system volume proportional to the number of gas sen-
[20]. The same research group reported an ultra-high- sors used in the system. A recent work by Cho et al.
response H2 sensor fabricated by doping WS2 with [61*] addressed this challenge of cross reactivity by
detonation NDs, which offered an even much better developing a single-mLED-embedded photoactivated
response than NDCNTs [21]. ultra-low-power (mLP) metal oxide gas sensor with
time-variant illumination, integrated with DL analysis.
Metal-oxide-based gas sensors The single gas sensor with 0.53-mW power consumption
Metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs) are well-known achieved high classification (w96.99%) for NO2,
materials in the field of environmental sensor develop- acetone, methanol, and ethanol. This sensing strategy
ment [50,51]. The prominence of metal-oxide micro offers accurate real-time prediction of gas mixtures and
and nanomaterials in the field of gas sensing has been ameliorates the utility in the real scenarios.
well established [52]. These materials can be integrated
into different IoT devices and sophisticated gas- Despite the commercial availability of several gas sensors
detecting systems such as “electronic nose”. Over the in the market, a continuous scientific progression is
years, a great amount of work has been performed in being made to overcome the associated technical short-
improving the gas-sensing properties of metal-oxides comings and utilize such sensors for a wide range of
[8*,53-55]. Metal-oxide nanomaterials are modified applications. In order to easily integrate these sensors
with materials such as mesoporous molecular sieve, into IoT devices, recent commercial sensors are
alumina membrane (Figure 2d), and hydrophobic poly- designed with integrated electronics that could offer a
mers to make them humidity tolerant [28,29,56,57]. better digital interface rather than conventional analog
Another major issue with metal-oxide-based gas sensors interface [62]. Another major focus is improving the
is their lack of selectivity. The methods being used to stability of the MOS gas sensors in the presence of si-
improve the selectivity and sensitivity of the metal- loxanes [63]. The MOS sensors suffer reduced lifetime,
oxide-based gas sensors include doping with metal increase in the response time, and decrease in the
ions, surface functionalization, combination with sensitivity due to the degradation caused in the presence
permeable membranes, using sensor arrays and pattern- of a very low siloxane concentrations. However, siloxanes
recognition algorithms (such as ANN and PCA) [14], are used in several products of everyday use and hence
and combining p-type and n-type metal-oxides to form are significantly present in the operational environment
nanocomposites [58,59], core-shell structures, or [64]. This also challenges the application of such sensors
heterostructures [14]. In a recent work by Weber and with mobile phones because of the high concentrations
coworkers, a portable and integrated hand-held Pd/SnO2 of siloxane originating from the phone [62].
device was developed for unprecedentedly selective
detection of benzene from gaseous mixtures MOS gas sensors are popular for indoor air quality (IAQ)
(Figure 2e). The nonspecific but highly sensitive Pd/ measurements due to their capability to detect a wide
SnO2 sensor was combined with a WO3 variety of VOCs. However, this is also a limitation for the
NP catalystepacked bed filter to induce specificity applications involving selectivity toward specific gases
toward benzene [25*]. [62]. The selectivity of these sensors can be improved

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 Nano-enabled sensors for environmental monitoring Chakraborty et al. 7

by sophisticated treatment of the data, combining transmission to a mobile phone [18]. In another
multiple sensing elements that differ in intrinsic gas approach, Guo et al. developed an ultra-large MoSe2-
selectivity, and using more complicated modes of oper- nanosheet-based high-performance low-cost, light-
ation, such as temperature-cycled operation (TCO) weight sensor for NH3 and NO2 gases. The system
[62,65,66]. Commercial sensor platforms such as the could be conjoined with the human skin and offer
SGP multi-pixel digital gas sensor developed by Sensi- wireless collection and storage of data to the cloud base
rion (Sensirion AG, Stäfa, Switzerland) is a milestone for [22*]. Researchers are exploring the amelioration of the
the MOS gas sensors available in the market [62]. With gas-sensing performance by the formation of hetero-
the multipixel technology, the sensor uses various re- junctions of TMDC with metal oxides and MXenes. In
ceptors for perceiving its surroundings, which enables such pursuit, Li et al. [24] have recently reported the
the identification of the type of gases and the detection high-response, ultra-low-power-consuming, rapid-speed
of their concentrations. The MOXSensÒ technology by H2S sensor by utilizing the oxygen-vacancy-rich
Sensirion makes the SGP robust against siloxane W2SeCuO p-n heterojunction. The efficiency of SnO2
contamination, thus providing accuracy and long-term (MOF-derived) and WSe2 nanocomposite toward room-
stability [67]. The digital interface of the sensor, com- temperature CO detection was explored by Yang et al.
bined with the on-chip calibration data, enables simple [31] (Figure 2f). They observed that the formation of
integration of the sensor into various appliances and nen heterojunction drastically improved the sensing
allows the direct use of the output signal for indication performance of the nanocomposite. In another inter-
of the air quality by the users. The architecture of SGP esting work, a fully flexible paper-based highly selective,
has been thoroughly explained, and the performance of and sensitive NO2 sensor was developed by integrating a
the sensor has also been evaluated in field measure- Ti3C2Tx-MXene electrode and Ti3C2Tx/WS2
ments by research groups such as Rüffer et al. [62]. Baur gasesensing film [12]. Such materials can be potentially
et al. [66] performed lab calibration followed by the field integrated into modern intelligent gas-sensing systems.
IAQ testing of SGP30 (Sensirion AG, Stäfa,
Switzerland) over the time of several weeks. They Metal–organic framework-based gas sensors
combined the sensor with TCO to obtain good MOFs are highly porous, well-organized, adjustable
sensor selectivity. crystalline coordination polymers built up of metal-based
units (ions, clusters) and highly versatile organic linkers.
They also conducted release tests with different sub- The large surface area and porous nature of these mate-
stances in order to prove the capability of the sensor for rials enable rapid adsorption and desorption of the target
selective detection and quantification of VOCs. The gases and thus make them suitable selections for the
results obtained with the MOS sensor were in quanti- development of highly sensitive gas sensors [69*,70].
tative agreement with those obtained with the analytical MOFs can associate with multiple target gases through
systems (gas chromatography-reducing compound Van der Waals forces, H-bonding, and electrostatic in-
photometer (GC-RCP), gas chromatography-photoion- teractions, and can offer selective gas penetration.
ization detector (GC-PID), and thermo-desorption gas Additionally, their highly adjustable structure facilitates
chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS)). the fabrication of a wide variety of nanomaterials and
Thus, selective and quantitative results were achieved hybrid nanostructures [69*,71-73]. The selective ab-
using the commercial MOS sensor in the laboratory as sorption of gases can be achieved by tuning the organic
well as field measurements. The authors suggested that linkers and metal nodes of the MOFs. For instance, a
optimized model training, randomized calibration, and highly selective, near-zero-power NO2 gas sensor was
TCO were practical and necessary tools for getting such developed by Small et al. by using nanoporous Ni-MOF-
desired performance using commercial sensors. 74. They reported that the gas-absorption-induced
change in the electronic structure of MOF was in order
Transition-metal-dichalcogenides-based gas sensors Ni-MOF-74 > Co-MOF-74 > Mg-MOF-74, which could
In the recent years 2D TMDCs (SnS2, WSe2, MoS2, be explained by the ability of each variant of MOF to
MoSe2, WS2, etc) have shown propitious applicability in absorb NO2 and chemically interact with it [30].
the development of smart, flexible, energy-efficient gas Recently, researchers from MIT developed a database of
sensors [68]. The mechanism of gas sensing by TMDCs more than 50,000 hypothetical MOF structures, which is
is mainly dependent on the charge transfer (depending a breakthrough in eliminating the need for trial-and-error
on the reducing or oxidizing nature of the gaseous methods to develop ultra-stable MOFs. They have
target) between TMDCs and the gas molecules. recognized beneficial metal nodes present in ultra-stable
Recently, Oluwasanya et al. fabricated a highly sensitive MOFs that can offer optimized mechanical stability and
GO/MoS2-coated (carried out in-situ reduction to form gas storage simultaneously. They provided elastic
rGO) washable e-textile and utilized it toward the low- moduli-based confirmation that nearly 10,000 MOFs
level detection of NO2 at an ambient temperature of were mechanically ultra-stable and offered good deliver-
20 C. Further, the sensor system was integrated with a able capacities for methane gas. Thus, these ultra-stable
microcontroller, which enabled wireless data MOFs can be useful for capturing, removing, and
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8 Environmental Health 2024: Emerging nanomaterials and advanced techniques for sensing and removal of toxic gases

Figure 3

Diagrammatic representation of conclusion, challenges, and viewpoint presented in this review.

converting methane [74*]. Scientists are also empha- systems applicable in long-term real-world scenarios.
sizing MOFs embedded with other nanostructures to Several challenges still prevail in the utilization of these
resolve the issues regarding the surface adsorption of nanomaterials for practically applicable modern-day gas
multiple analytes. Several such approaches have been sensors. These challenges include developing low-cost
discussed in a recent review by Bhaliya et al. [69*]. They easy-to-use smart systems, checking the long-term and
also concluded that currently, researchers are still over- real-life efficiency of such systems, and scaling-up the
coming the challenges of designing MOF-based tiny development of these nano-enabled gas sensors. The
electronic devices and multiple-MOF-based array-inte- commercial gas sensors are also getting advanced, and
grated sensors [69*]. many significant modifications such as shifting the
interface from analog to digital have been implied. The
Conclusion, challenges, and viewpoint performance of such commercial sensors has been re-
In the current scenario, nanomaterials such as MXenes, ported to get boosted by optimized model training,
carbon-based materials, metal-oxides, TMDCs, and randomized calibration, and utilizing more complicated
MOFs are gaining a massive spotlight as worthy choices modes of operation such as TCO, and more research is
for the fabrication of high-end advanced smart gas- being carried out in this direction. The integration of
sensing systems. However, from the major number of the smart gas sensors with IoT devices by using wireless
recently reported works in this field, it can be observed technologies, such as LoRA, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, and Blue-
that the application of any single type of material is not tooth, enables the generation of valuable data for the
always enough to provide the desired advantages to the users and decision-makers [75].
sensing system because all these materials have their
pros and cons. Hence, the major focus of the scientific Another major concern is associated with the generation
community lies in the development of modified versions of e-waste, chemical waste, and solid waste during the
of these materials to extract maximum benefits by developmental, operational, and disposal phases of such
minimizing their shortcomings. In several approaches, gas sensor systems. For the large-scale utility of such
the advanced sensing systems have been engineered by systems, it is necessary to ponder upon this issue to
the integration of two or more of these materials with avoid environmental contamination [76]. The scientific
one another. Researchers have successfully showcased community has started paying heed to this challenge
the application of these materials in the development of and are adopting necessary steps such as using greener
smart gas sensors that are compatible with recent solvents and precursors during the fabrication of these
technologies. However, more practical efforts and systems and developing bio-inspired, bio-derived, and
experimental validations are needed to make such bio-mimetic systems [76e80]. For instance, in a recent

Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 2024, 37:100532 www.sciencedirect.com

 Nano-enabled sensors for environmental monitoring Chakraborty et al. 9

work, Qin et al. [81] got inspired by the resemblance of 6. Zhu J, Wen H, Fan Y, Yang X, Zhang H, Wu W, Zhou Y, Hu H:
* Recent advances in gas and environmental sensing: from
bamboo structure with that of dog turbinate and hence micro/nano to the era of self-powered and artificial intelligent
utilized waste thrown-away bamboo chopsticks to derive (AI)-enabled device. Microchem J 2022, 181:107833.
This review paper presented the advancements in the field of next-
carbon materials for the development of highly sensitive generation gas sensor and also highlighted the era of artificial intelli-
and selective biomimetic NH3 gas sensor. Such research gence and self-powered gas monitoring systems.
advancements are encouraging indicators about the 7. Zhu J, Cho M, Li Y, He T, Ahn J, Park J, Ren T-L, Lee C, Park I:
future of non-toxic, eco-friendly, biodegradable, and * Machine learning-enabled textile-based graphene gas
sensing with energy harvesting-assisted IoT application.
highly efficient next-generation smart gas-sensing sys- Nano Energy 2021, 86:106035.
tems. Figure 3 presents the pictorial presentation of the The paper report IoT-enabled wearable flexible and foldable high-
conclusion, challenges, and overview presented in this performance H2 gas sensor on all textiles substrate-fabricated by
inkjet–printing of rGO.
review article.
8. Malik R, Tomer VK, Mishra YK, Lin L: Functional gas sensing
* nanomaterials: a panoramic view. Appl Phys Rev 2020, 7,
CRediT authorship contribution statement 021301.
This review presents critical insights regardung different gas sensing
Urmila Chakraborty: visualize the concept and write an nanomaterials and highlights the current-shortcomings and scopes for
original draft. further developments of these nanomaterials in different areas of gas-
sensing applications.

Ajeet Kaushik: Mentoring, review, and editing. 9. Yao Y, Wang Z, Han Y, Xie L, Zhao X, Shahrokhian S, Barsan N,
Zhu Z: Conductometric Cr2O3/TiO2/Ti3C2Tx gas sensor for
detecting triethylamine at room temperature. Sensor Actuator
Ganga Ram Chaudhary: Mentoring, review, and editing. B Chem 2023, 381:133412.
10. Gasso S, Mahajan A: Self-powered wearable gas sensors
Yogendra Kumar Mishra: Mentoring, review, * based on l-ascorbate-treated MXene nanosheets and SnO2
nanofibers. ACS Appl Nano Mater 2023, 6:6678–6692.
and editing. This paper presents the develoopment of wearable self-pwered highly
efficient humidity-tolerant room-temperature NO2 gas sensor and
pressure sensor, fabricated using SnO2 nanofibers and L-ascorbate
Declaration of competing interest treated stable MXene nanosheets.
The authors declare that they have no known competing 11. Chen WY, Lai S-N, Yen C-C, Jiang X, Peroulis D, Stanciu LA:
financial interests or personal relationships that could Surface functionalization of Ti3C2 Tx MXene with highly reli-
able superhydrophobic protection for volatile organic com-
have appeared to influence the work reported in pounds sensing. ACS Nano 2020, 14:11490–11501.
this paper. 12. Quan W, Shi J, Luo H, Fan C, Lv W, Chen X, Zeng M, Yang J,
Hu N, Su Y, et al.: Fully flexible MXene-based gas sensor on
paper for highly sensitive room-temperature nitrogen dioxide
Data availability detection. ACS Sens 2023, 8:103–113.
Data will be made available on request. 13. Yang L, Zheng G, Cao Y, Meng C, Li Y, Ji H, Chen X, Niu G,
Yan J, Xue Y, et al.: Moisture-resistant, stretchable NOx gas
Acknowledgements sensors based on laser-induced graphene for environmental
monitoring and breath analysis. Microsyst Nanoeng 2022, 8.
The authors acknowledge their respective institutions for providing sup-
port and facilities. YKM acknowledges the fundings from the ESS light- 14. Rasch F, Postica V, Schütt F, Mishra YK, Nia AS, Lohe MR,
house on hard materials in 3D, SOLID (Danish Agency for Science and Feng X, Adelung R, Lupan O: Highly selective and ultra-low
Higher Education, grant number 8144-00002B) BHJ Fonden Denmark, power consumption metal oxide based hydrogen gas sensor
and Fabrikant Mads Clausen Fond, Denmark. employing graphene oxide as molecular sieve. Sensor Actu-
ator B Chem 2020, 320:128363.
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