Advanced Nanomaterials for High-Performance Gas Sensors

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "C:Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 360

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Department of Physics, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Gyeongbuk, Republic of Korea
Interests: gas sensors; nanostructured materials; energy storage devices; electrocatalytic water splitting
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gas sensors are essential for environmental monitoring, industrial safety, medical diagnostics, and homeland security. However, traditional gas sensors frequently encounter challenges such as low sensitivity, inadequate selectivity, elevated operating temperatures, and slow response and recovery times. Advanced nanomaterials offer a transformative solution to these problems. Nanomaterials—including metal oxides, graphene and its derivatives, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)—exhibit unique physicochemical properties such as a high surface-to-volume ratio, tunable electronic structures, and exceptional adsorption capabilities. These characteristics lead to enhanced gas interaction, faster electron transfer, and better detection limits, even at low concentrations and room temperatures.

This Special Issue, titled "Advanced Nanomaterials for High-Performance Gas Sensors", highlights the significant advancements in developing and applying nanomaterials to enhance gas sensing technologies, which delves into the design, synthesis, characterization, and integration of these nanomaterials into sensor platforms. It discusses innovative strategies such as doping, heterostructure formation, surface functionalization, and hybridization to enhance selectivity and stability. Moreover, it highlights the importance of artificial intelligence and machine learning in analyzing sensor data and optimizing material design. By integrating interdisciplinary research, this Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of current advancements and future directions in the field. It serves as an essential resource for scientists, engineers, and industry professionals looking to develop next-generation gas sensors with improved sensitivity, reliability, and energy efficiency, thereby pushing the limits of real-world sensing applications.

Prof. Dr. Rajneesh Kumar Mishra
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • nanostructured materials
  • gas sensing mechanisms
  • metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs)
  • two-dimensional (2D) materials
  • heterojunction engineering
  • room-temperature sensing
  • selectivity enhancement
  • sensor sensitivity optimization

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 2896 KiB  
Article
Annealing-Driven Modifications in ZnO Nanorod Thin Films and Their Impact on NO2 Sensing Performance
by Sandip M. Nikam, Tanaji S. Patil, Nilam A. Nimbalkar, Raviraj S. Kamble, Vandana R. Patil, Uttam E. Mote, Sadaf Jamal Gilani, Sagar M. Mane, Jaewoong Lee and Ravindra D. Mane
Micromachines 2025, 16(7), 778; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16070778 - 30 Jun 2025
Viewed by 265
Abstract
This research examines the effect of annealing temperature on the growth orientation of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods and its subsequent influence on NO2 gas sensing efficiency. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were synthesized using the chemical bath deposition method, followed by annealing at [...] Read more.
This research examines the effect of annealing temperature on the growth orientation of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods and its subsequent influence on NO2 gas sensing efficiency. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were synthesized using the chemical bath deposition method, followed by annealing at 300, 400, and 500 °C. Diffraction analysis confirmed that both non-annealed and annealed ZnO nanorods crystallize in a hexagonal wurtzite structure. However, increasing the annealing temperature shifts the growth orientation from the c-axis (002) toward the (100) and (101) directions. Microscopy images (FE-SEM) revealed a reduction in nanorod diameter as the annealing temperature increases. Optical characterization using UV–visible and photoluminescence spectroscopy indicated shifts in the band gap energy and emission properties. Contact angle measurements demonstrated the hydrophobic nature of the films. Gas sensing tests at 200 °C revealed that the ZnO thin film annealed at 400 °C achieved the highest NO2 response of 5.88%. The study highlights the critical role of annealing in modifying the crystallinity, growth orientation, and defect states of ZnO thin films, ultimately enhancing their NO2 detection capability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Nanomaterials for High-Performance Gas Sensors)
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