Recent Advances in Doping and Polymer Hybridization Strategies for Enhancing ZnO-Based Gas Sensors

Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials have emerged as promising candidates for gas sensing applications due to their high sensitivity, fast response-recovery cycles, thermal and chemical stability, and low fabrication cost. However, the performance of pristine ZnO remains limited by high operating temperatures, poor selectivity, and suboptimal detection at low gas concentrations. To address these limitations, significant research efforts have focused on dopant incorporation and polymer hybridization. This review summarizes recent advances in dopant engineering using elements such as Al, Ga, Mg, In, Sn, and transition metals (Co, Ni, Cu), which modulate ZnO's crystal structure, defect density, carrier concentration, and surface activity-resulting in enhanced gas adsorption and electron transport. Furthermore, ZnO-polymer nanocomposites (e.g., with polyaniline, polypyrrole, PEG, and chitosan) exhibit improved flexibility, surface functionality, and room-temperature responsiveness due to the presence of active functional groups and tunable porosity. The synergistic combination of dopants and polymers facilitates enhanced charge transfer, increased surface area, and stronger gas-molecule interactions. Where applicable, sol-gel-based studies are explicitly highlighted and contrasted with non-sol-gel routes to show how synthesis controls defect chemistry, morphology, and sensing metrics. This review provides a comprehensive understanding of the structure-function relationships in doped ZnO and ZnO-polymer hybrids and offers guidelines for the rational design of next-generation, low-power, and selective gas sensors for environmental and industrial applications.