Advances in the chemical sensors for the detection of DMMP — A simulant for nerve agent sarin

A series of recent terrorist attacks makes it clear that developing chemical sensors for chemical warfare agents with rapid response, high sensitivity and stability is essential. Nerve agent sarin (2-(fluoro-methyl-phosphoryl)oxypropane) is a typical member of organophosphorus compounds, which are recognized as one of the most toxic warfare agents. Considering sarin’s high toxicity, DMMP (dimethyl methylphosphonate) is widely used as its simulant in the laboratory because of its similar chemical structure and much lower toxicity. This review serves to introduce the development of a variety of chemical sensors applied to the detection of DMMP in recent years, including mass-sensitive sensors, chemicapacitors, chemiresistors, as well as field-effect transistors. Meanwhile, the research and applications of mass-sensitive and resistance based DMMP sensors are highlighted. For sorption-based sensors, active materials play crucial roles in improving integral performances of sensors. The novel active materials pertaining hydrogen-bond acidic polymers, metal oxides, carbon nanotubes, porous materials and graphene is focused on in this review.