Recent advances in atomic layer deposition of nanostructured materials for gas sensors

Abstract

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been widely used in the field of gas sensors thanks to the advantages of a non-line-of-sight technique that allows for conformal and uniform coating on virtually any type of substrates, and the capability of depositing various materials in a highly controlled manner. ALD is mainly applied for surface modification using ultrathin films or nanoparticles to fabricate heterostructures, which can drastically change the electronic transport properties and improve the performance of the sensing materials. Recently, ALD has been utilized to fabricate “all-ALD sensing materials”, which exhibit unprecedented performance and outstanding reproducibility. This overall review summarizes recent advances in the fabrication of sensing materials for gas sensors by ALD, with focuses on two main applications: ALD for surface modification of sensing materials and ALD for fabrication of sensing materials.