Graphene derivatives for chemiresistive gas sensors: A review

Graphene based gas sensors have shown rapid advancements with the progress in nanoscience and nanotechnology owing to their unique electronic properties, diverse physical chemistry and novel derivatives structure formation. Gas sensors using graphene based sensing materials in 1D nanoribbons and 3D sponge or foam structures have been exploited recently along with the conventional 2D structure and reported for sensing applications. Therefore, the recent progress in sensing performances of graphene based on different dimensional structures have been summarized in this review to understand the role of material dimension. The sensing and detection of crucial toxic gases and vapors using different dimensional structures of graphene from 1D to 3D have been reported and thoroughly discussed. The graphene derivatives obtained by doping, decorating metal/metal oxide nanoparticles, blending with polymers and surface functionalization and their sensing applications are discussed in detail. In addition, the chemically derived graphene including graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) has been shown as potential candidate for developing efficient sensors. Furthermore, the potential of 3D graphene nanostructure in gas sensors is also emphasized. Finally, the possible challenges in the existing graphene sensors and the usefulness of chemically derived graphene in developing the next generation sensor devices has also been highlighted for future perspectives.