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Zinc oxide (ZnO), a direct, wide band gap and n-type metal oxide semiconductor, is being anticipated as the next generation functional nano-material towards remarkably diversified sensing applications. ZnO and its composites have revealed a new era in the fabrication of sensors owing to their excellent opto-electronic, physicochemical, electrical properties such as low dielectric constant, plentiful Zn-O bonds, high luminous transmittance, good physicochemical stability, huge excitation binding energy, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, large surface area to volume ratio and so on. This comprehensive review summarizes the applications of ZnO nano-structures in the areas of environmental monitoring, biomedical, and optical sensing. Fundamental sensing mechanisms of the ZnO based sensors are examined to provide a better insight into the role of ZnO in each of these sensors. Wherever relevant, limitations of the existing approaches and future outlook have also been discussed.
Sha et al. (Sun,) studied this question.