Chemiresistive Gas Sensors: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications on the Road to Intelligence and Multifunctionality.

Journal: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Published Date: Jan 20, 2026

Abstract

Advances in chemiresistive gas sensors (CGSs) are driving their evolution toward multifunctionality and intelligence. Nevertheless, it remains crucial to track the latest developments and clarify the key contributions of materials and structural engineering in enabling these capabilities. First, this review describes the key performance metrics of CGSs and summarizes the characteristics and transduction mechanisms of representative sensing materials, including metal-oxide semiconductors (MOSs), carbon nanomaterials (CNs), conducting polymers (CPs), MXenes, two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDs), and other emerging materials. Next, major performance-enhancement strategies are discussed in response to the intrinsic limitations of CGSs, covering nanostructure and morphology engineering, heterostructure construction, chemical doping and surface functionalization, and composite/hybrid engineering, as well as humidity interference and corresponding mitigation approaches. Further, advances in applications spanning environmental, medical, industrial, and food-related scenarios are surveyed, with a focus on material selection and performance evaluation. Building on these developments, the latest progress in advanced CGSs is highlighted, particularly wearable sensing, self-powered operation, machine-learning (ML)-assisted pattern recognition, and integration with wireless communication systems. Finally, the major challenges currently facing the field are identified, and perspectives on future research trends are provided.

Authors

  • Junhao Wang
    Institute of Nano Biomedicine and Engineering, School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan RD, Shanghai, 200240, PR China.
  • Haiyang Gong
    School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, P. R. China.
  • Fangyuan Tian
    School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, P. R. China.
  • Zeyu Li
    Department of automation, Harbin Engineering University, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Jialiang Li
    Department of Statistics and Applied Probability, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
  • Jianjun Jiang
    School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, P. R. China.
  • Yujun Li
    Research Center of Intelligent Medical Information Processing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Xing Chen
    School of Information and Electrical Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China. [email protected].

Keywords

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