MnO₂ Nanostructure-Based Novel Sensing: A Review

Growing public concern over the living environment, food safety and the healthcare industry has spurred rapid advances in advanced sensing technology for environmental monitoring, food-safety screening, and biomedical surveillance. Consequently, developing a novel sensing strategy which is efficient, inexpensive, and easy to operate has become a major research focus in recent years. MnO₂ nanostructures combine advantages of high specific surface area, quantum confinement, surface effects originating from their nanostructure, pronounced redox activity, broad optical absorption, distinctive electrochemical behavior, multiple accessible oxidation states, low cost and environmental benignity contributed by MnO₂, which make them a critical material candidate for developing advanced sensing technology. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of MnO₂ nanostructure-based novel sensors over the past five years. The contents of this review are listed as follows: (1) synthetic strategy and sensing advantages of MnO₂ quantum dots, 1D MnO₂, 2D MnO₂ and hierarchical MnO₂; (2) recent research advances in detection methodology and corresponding principles based on MnO₂ nanostructures; and (3) the applicational progress of MnO₂ nanostructure-based novel sensing technology in the field of food safety and biosensing. Finally, the foregoing discussion is integrated, and the current shortcomings and future development trends of novel sensors based on MnO₂ nanostructures are critically assessed.