Nanostructured Materials for Sensors Applications

Abstract

Nanostructured materials have attracted intensive scientific attention. The size-dependent properties of nanostructured materials provide the greatest potential for improving the performance and extending their applications in many diverse fields, such as sensors, display technology, energy storage and energy conversion process, catalysis, pharmaceutical and biomedical. Sensors are devices that are frequently used to detect a variable quantity, usually electronically, and sensors convert the measurement into specific signals. Utilization of nanostructured materials for sensor applications are technologically advantageous in terms of surface-to-volume ratio and high specific-surface area, demonstrating strong potential for improving the performances of the sensors. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of current research activities that concentrate chemical, gas and biosensors based on inorganic nanomaterials – quantum dots and metallic nanomaterials – and organic nanomaterials – carbon dots and polymeric materials – and organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials – metal organic frameworks. We devote the most attention to the synthesis of nanostructured materials by different techniques, sensor device fabrications, sensing mechanism, and important conclusions with future research perspectives and challenges in this research field.