Hybrid nanomaterials designed for volatile organic compounds sensors: A review

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are associated to many problems regarding to health, such as cancer and asthma, and environmental issues, affecting ecosystem and plant growth development. Thus, reliable technologies capable to detect distinct VOCs in very low levels, both in indoor and outdoor environments, are highly desired. Although standard analytical techniques (such as chromatography and mass spectroscopy) can be used to detect varied VOCs, some of them do not combine sensitivity, precision and low cost. In this sense, the development of sensors employing hybrid nanomaterials designed for detecting VOCs appears as a suitable alternative due to remarkable features as superior sensitivity, limit of detection, possibility of miniaturization and versatility. The outstanding features of designed hybrid nanomaterials arise as consequence of the synergistic effects between the constituent materials, with direct consequence on the sensing mechanisms and performance. In this review article we present recent results on how the use of distinct nanomaterials, including conducting polymer, metals oxides, graphenes, etc., can be used to design nanoarchitectures to develop and improve the performance sensors for detecting VOCs aiming at varied applications. Keywords: Nanostructured material, Hybrid material, Sensor, Volatile organic compounds, Optical sensor, Electrochemical sensor