Application of Nanomaterials for Chemical and Biological Sensors: A Review

Advancement in novel materials for sensing application has revolutionized the field of biological and chemical sensors. Nanomaterials such as nanowires, nanorods, nanobelts, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and MXenes have served as the building blocks in the fabrication of a variety of sensor technologies using both bottom-up and top-down approaches. Nanomaterials continue to be attractive for the development of high-performance sensors due to their extraordinary electrical and physical properties deriving from their 1D and 2D structures. These properties can be tuned through experimentation to achieve the desired sensor characteristics and sensing performance. This review will discuss the advances in sensor fabrication technology that rely on nanomaterials, their synthesis, properties, and applications. The current limitations of these nanomaterials and their prospects as sensing materials are also discussed.