Graphenes in chemical sensors and biosensors

This review covers the current state of the art of using graphenes in electrochemical and optical chemical sensors and biosensors. We first discuss the various types of graphenes, graphene oxides and the like, and also give a definition for each. This is followed by a section on the use of non-modified materials (“plain graphenes”) in mainly electrochemical and optical chemical sensors and biosensors. The next section summarizes the various kinds of sensors based on composite materials containing graphenes, with subsections on electro-chemical, field-effect-transistor-based, fluorescent, chemiluminescent and colorimetric sensors. We show that the use of graphenes alone or in composite form can improve the performance of chemical sensors and biosensors, particularly with respect to dynamic ranges, lower limits of detection, selectivity and size of instrumentation. The review is based on ∼270 references, primarily from 2007–12.

► We cover the current state of the art of using graphenes in sensor applications. ► We classify each type of graphene. ► We discuss unmodified materials and composite materials. ► This review is based on ∼270 references from 2007–12.