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Abstract
In recent years, a significant interest has developed on metallic nanostructures based sensors for the detection of gas, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and biomolecules in the wake of counter-terrorism threats and environmental pollution. Enhancement in selectivity and overall efficiency of the sensors is achieved by tailoring size, structure and shape of the nanoparticles. In the last decade, numerous studies revealed various sensing properties of these nanomaterials. However, improvements in overall sensor performance such as sensitivity, selectivity, response time, recovery time and robustness demand further improvement. This warrants a proper understanding of the basic principles behind the sensing properties of metallic nanostructures. In this review, principles of few important sensing systems, their sensing mechanisms, merits and demerits along with some of the applications on the detection of gas, VOC and biological molecules are discussed. This review also highlights the importance of using metal nanostructures in various sensor systems. Although the development of nanotechnology provides new avenue to sensor research, there exist several unexplored territories for the application of nanostructured materials onto the device. This review encompasses some significant efforts on the application of nanomaterials in the various sensing systems.