Atmospheric pollution has become a critical problem for modern society; therefore, the research in this area continually aims to develop a high-performance gas sensor for health care and environmental safety. Researchers have made a significant contribution in this field by developing highly sensitive sensor-based novel selective materials. The aim of this article is to review recent developments and progress in the selective and sensitive detection of environmentally toxic gases. Different classifications of gas sensor devices are discussed based on their structure, the materials used, and their properties. The mechanisms of the sensing devices, identified by measuring the change in physical property using adsorption/desorption processes as well as chemical reactions on the gas-sensitive material surface, are also discussed. Additionally, the article presents a comprehensive review of the different morphologies and dimensions of mixed heterostructure, multilayered heterostructure, composite, core-shell, hollow heterostructure, and decorated heterostructure, which tune the gas-sensing properties towards hazardous gases. The article investigates in detail the growth and interface properties, concentrating on the material configurations that could be employed to prepare nanomaterials for commercial gas-sensing devices.
Keywords: gas sensors; metal oxides; nanomaterials; polymers; semiconductors.