The DOI matches its Crossref record; 217 of the 217 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Review of Gravimetric Sensing of Volatile Organic Compounds
Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are pervasive in the environment. Since the early 1980s, substantial work has examined the detection of these materials, as they can indicate environmental changes that can affect human health. VOCs and similar compounds present a very specific sensing problem in that they are not reactive and often nonpolar, so it is difficult to find materials that selectively bind or adsorb them. A number of techniques are applied to vapor sensing. High resolution molecular separation approaches such as gas chromatography and mass spectrometry are well-characterized and offer high sensitivity, but are difficult to implement in portable, real-time monitors, whereas approaches such as chemiresistors are promising, but still in development. Gravimetric approaches, in which the mass of an adsorbed vapor is directly measured, have several potential advantages over other techniques but have so far lagged behind other approaches in performance and market penetration. This review aims to offer a comprehensive background on gravimetric sensing including underlying resonators and sensitizers, as well as a picture of applications and commercialization in the field.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“When an electrical signal is applied to the piezoelectric substrate, it generates an acoustic wave that propagates through the substrate and the sensing film.”
From Artificial intelligence enhanced sensors - enabling technologies to next-generation healthcare and biomedical platform (2023) · cites this paper as McGinn et al. 2020
In the citing paper
“The sensing film is designed to selectively interact with specific gas molecules, causing a mass-loading effect that alters the resonant frequency of the device.”
From Artificial intelligence enhanced sensors - enabling technologies to next-generation healthcare and biomedical platform (2023) · cites this paper as McGinn et al. 2020
In the citing paper
“As VOCs interact with the sensing film, they are adsorbed onto the surface, causing a change in the mass of the film, and altering the resonant frequency of the device, referred as to the gravimetric sensing mechanism.”
From Artificial intelligence enhanced sensors - enabling technologies to next-generation healthcare and biomedical platform (2023) · cites this paper as McGinn et al. 2020
In the citing paper
“By preferentially adsorbing the target gas molecules onto their surface, these films amplify the sensor's sensitivity, allowing for the detection of even trace amounts of the gas.”
From Artificial intelligence enhanced sensors - enabling technologies to next-generation healthcare and biomedical platform (2023) · cites this paper as McGinn et al. 2020
In the citing paper
“They are engineered to minimize or suppress the adsorption of interfering gases, thereby reducing their impact on the sensor's accuracy and specificity.”
From Artificial intelligence enhanced sensors - enabling technologies to next-generation healthcare and biomedical platform (2023) · cites this paper as McGinn et al. 2020
In the citing paper
“Their engineered composition ensures long-term stability and reversibility, enabling consistent and reliable performance of the gas sensor over-time.”
From Artificial intelligence enhanced sensors - enabling technologies to next-generation healthcare and biomedical platform (2023) · cites this paper as McGinn et al. 2020
In the citing paper
“Through tailoring their composition, gas selective adsorption films exhibit a strong affinity for the specific gas species of interest, ensuring that only the desired gas molecules are adsorbed.”
From Artificial intelligence enhanced sensors - enabling technologies to next-generation healthcare and biomedical platform (2023) · cites this paper as McGinn et al. 2020
In the citing paper
“However, they may require periodic calibration or replacement of sensing materials, and their selectivity may be limited for individual sensors.”
From Artificial intelligence enhanced sensors - enabling technologies to next-generation healthcare and biomedical platform (2023) · cites this paper as McGinn et al. 2020
In the citing paper
“While electrical methods may have slightly lower sensitivity compared to optical methods, they can compensate with the use of sensor arrays and pattern recognition techniques to enhance selectivity.”
From Artificial intelligence enhanced sensors - enabling technologies to next-generation healthcare and biomedical platform (2023) · cites this paper as McGinn et al. 2020
In the citing paper
“On the other hand, electrical methods exhibit good sensitivity in the parts per million (ppm) range and offer flexibility in sensor design (McGinn et al. 2020).”
From Artificial intelligence enhanced sensors - enabling technologies to next-generation healthcare and biomedical platform (2023) · cites this paper as McGinn et al. 2020
In the citing paper
“Electrical methods generally have faster response times and can be more resilient to environmental interferences.”
From Artificial intelligence enhanced sensors - enabling technologies to next-generation healthcare and biomedical platform (2023) · cites this paper as McGinn et al. 2020
In the citing paper
“They can be integrated into compact and portable devices, allowing for personal monitoring or handheld applications.”
From Artificial intelligence enhanced sensors - enabling technologies to next-generation healthcare and biomedical platform (2023) · cites this paper as McGinn et al. 2020
Citations
Cites
Verwendung von Schwingquarzen zur W�gung d�nner Schichten und zur Mikrow�gung
Sauerbrey, G. (1959) · The European Physical Journal A · doi:10.1007/bf01337937 · Cited by 10,095
Self-Assembled Monolayers of Thiolates on Metals as a Form of Nanotechnology
Love, J. C., Estroff, L. A., Kriebel, J. K., Nuzzo, R. G., & Whitesides, G. M. (2005) · Chemical Reviews · doi:10.1021/cr0300789 · Cited by 8,499
Detection of individual gas molecules adsorbed on graphene
Schedin, F., Geim, A. K., Morozov, S. V., Hill, E. W., Blake, P., Katsnelson, M. I., & Novoselov, K. S. (2007) · Nature Materials · doi:10.1038/nmat1967 · Cited by 8,028
Use of quartz vibration for weighing thin films on a microbalance
Sauerbrey, G., & Sauerbrey, F. (1959) · The European Physical Journal A · Cited by 6,791
Nanotube Molecular Wires as Chemical Sensors
Kong, J., Franklin, N., Zhou, C., Chapline, M. G., Peng, S., Cho, K., & Dai, H. (2000) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.287.5453.622 · Cited by 6,046
Graphene Based Electrochemical Sensors and Biosensors: A Review
Shao, Y., Wang, J., Wu, H., Liu, J., Aksay, İ. A., & Lin, Y. (2010) · Electroanalysis · doi:10.1002/elan.200900571 · Cited by 3,141
Extreme Oxygen Sensitivity of Electronic Properties of Carbon Nanotubes
Collins, P. G., Bradley, K., Ishigami, M., & Zettl, A. K. (2000) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.287.5459.1801 · Cited by 2,977
Metal Oxide Gas Sensors: Sensitivity and Influencing Factors
Wang, C., Yin, L., Zhang, L., Xiang, D., & Gao, R. (2010) · Sensors · doi:10.3390/s100302088 · Cited by 2,944
Structure and growth of self-assembling monolayers
Schreiber, F. (2000) · Progress in Surface Science · doi:10.1016/s0079-6816(00)00024-1 · Cited by 2,536
Molecularly Imprinted Polymers and Their Use in Biomimetic Sensors
Haupt, K., & Mosbach, K. (2000) · Chemical Reviews · doi:10.1021/cr990099w · Cited by 2,291
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 7
- Di Natale, 2005, Identification of schizophrenic patients by examination of body odor using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and a cross-selective gas sensor array, Medical science monitor: international medical journal of experimental and clinical research, 11, CR366
- Bhugra, 2017, Microsystems and Nanosystems Piezoelectric MEMS Resonators
- Ruby, 2007, Review and comparison of bulk acoustic wave FBAR, SMR technology, 1029
- Lanz, 2003, Solidly mounted BAW filters for 8 GHz based on AlN thin films, 178
- Lu, 2008, Mechanical quality factor of microcantilevers for mass sensing applications, 417
- Chen, 2018, Micro-electromechanical acoustic resonator coated with polyethyleneimine nanofibers for the detection of formaldehyde vapor, Micromachines, 9, 1
- Li, 2003, Carbon nanotube sensors for gas and organic vapor detection, Nano Lett., 3, 929, 10.1021/nl034220x · DOI
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–152 of 152
Engineering of advanced gas sensing materials: mechanisms, design, and outlook
Li, Y., Zeng, X., Zhang, Y., Wang, G., & Zhang, Y. (2025) · Microchemical Journal · doi:10.1016/j.microc.2025.116615 · Cited by 4
NO2 Sensing Behavior of Compacted Chemically Treated Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Lapekin, N. I., Golovakhin, V., Kim, E. Y., & Bannov, A. G. (2022) · Micromachines · doi:10.3390/mi13091495 · Cited by 4
Nanosensors for crop protection
Kamari, M., Kumar, N., Motaung, D. E., Issaoui, N., Kumar, S., & Rani, G. (2023) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-91703-2.00003-8 · Cited by 4
Gaidamavichute, V., Knyazeva, M., Khozina, E. V., Men’shchikov, I. E., Safaev, R., & Shkolin, A. V. (2023) · Materials Today Communications · doi:10.1016/j.mtcomm.2023.107787 · Cited by 4
Lee, S., Lee, Y., Hong, J., Lee, S., Wee, K., & Han, W. (2024) · Journal of Molecular Structure · doi:10.1016/j.molstruc.2024.140253 · Cited by 4
Ivanov, G., AVRAMOV, I. D., Strijkova, V., Marinov, Y. G., Vlakhov, T. E., Bogdanova, E. A., & Hadjichristov, G. B. (2021) · Journal of Physics Conference Series · doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1762/1/012002 · Cited by 4
Oxygen vacancies rich flower-like CuO for conductometric triethylamine gas sensors
Zhou, Y., Wang, L., Sun, Y., Li, Y., Zhang, J., Yan, H., Li, X., Yang, C., Wu, R., Wei, Y., et al. (2025) · Materials Science and Engineering B · doi:10.1016/j.mseb.2025.118941 · Cited by 3
Wang, K., Fan, S., Liu, B., Liu, W., & Chen, X. (2024) · ACS Omega · doi:10.1021/acsomega.4c05159 · Cited by 3
Dasgupta, D., Das, J., Das, S., & Saha, B. (2025) · Synthetic Metals · doi:10.1016/j.synthmet.2025.117858 · Cited by 3
Hadjichristov, G. B., Marinov, Y. G., Vlakhov, T. E., & Scaramuzza, N. (2021) · Advances in biomembranes and lipid self-assembly · doi:10.1016/bs.abl.2021.11.005 · Cited by 3
Solvent effect on the NO2 sensing properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes
Lapekin, N. I., Anufrieva, T. V., Ukhina, A. V., Shestakov, A. A., & Bannov, A. G. (2022) · Chimica Techno Acta · doi:10.15826/chimtech.2022.9.3.11 · Cited by 3
A Low-Cost Method for Producing User-Specified Concentrations of VOCs
Lewis, D. P., Schultze, K. P., Vandergriff, E. F., & Gilliland, W. M. (2024) · Analytical Chemistry · doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.4c02682 · Cited by 2
Bulk acoustic wave resonator virtual sensor arrays for DMMP detection
Zhao, Z., Huang, S., Li, Q., You, R., Jiang, Y., Duan, H., Chen, S., Chang, Y., & Wang, Z. (2025) · Nanotechnology and Precision Engineering · doi:10.1063/10.0036175 · Cited by 2
Singh, G., Priyanka, Singh, A., Singh, M., Jyoti, Parul, Poonam, & Kaur, A. (2026) · Inorganic Chemistry Communications · doi:10.1016/j.inoche.2026.116626 · Cited by 2
Sensor Array Chamber Design and Flow Simulation for Improved Gas Sensing Performance
Abdullah, A. N., Kamarudin, K., Adom, A. H., Sudin, S., Bakar, M. A. A., & Juffry, Z. H. M. (2024) · Lecture notes in mechanical engineering · doi:10.1007/978-981-97-0169-8_12 · Cited by 2
Fawzy, M., Mohammadzadeh, M. R., Abnavi, A., Silva, T. D., Ahmadi, R., Ghanbari, H., Kabir, F., Kavanagh, K. L., Hasani, A., & Adachi, M. M. (2024) · ECS Sensors Plus · doi:10.1149/2754-2726/ad7c61 · Cited by 2
Stabilization of an MQ-3 Sensor for Ethanol Measurement in Cowpea Seeds
Cavalcante, J. A., Silva, A. H. M., Gadotti, G. I., de Araújo, Á. S., & Monteiro, R. D. C. M. (2023) · Engenharia Agrícola · doi:10.1590/1809-4430-eng.agric.v43n2e20200046/2023 · Cited by 2
Composite based on metal oxides and 2D metal dichalcogenides for gas sensing
Gadtya, A. S., Majumder, S., & Moharana, S. (2024) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-95476-1.00021-6 · Cited by 1
Efficient detection of anthracene, pyrene, and tetracene on Ti/Ni modified phosphorene
Muhammad, I., Zhao, Y., Mushtaq, M. A., Leilei, Z., Algethami, N., Laref, A., Mahmood, A., Abdelmohsen, S. A. M., & Alanazi, M. M. (2025) · Chinese Journal of Physics · doi:10.1016/j.cjph.2025.06.036 · Cited by 1
Yap, K. Z., Lim, W. Y., & Ramakrishnan, N. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement · doi:10.1109/tim.2025.3590825 · Cited by 1
Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Materials for Trace Detection of Formaldehyde at Room Temperature
Ghodrati, S., Mavani, B. H., Kim, K. J., Stewart, K. M. E., & Penlidis, A. (2025) · Langmuir · doi:10.1021/acs.langmuir.5c01848 · Cited by 1
Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum and Its Relevance to Crop Production
Maqsood, F., Islam, M. S., Hussain, A., Naz, A., Tayab, M., Ahmad, A., Umair, M., Hassan, F. U., & Toriman, M. E. (2025) · Frontier studies in soil science · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-91114-9_16 · Cited by 1
Zhang, F., Zhao, C., Huang, X., Guo, Y., Zheng, J., Zhang, Z., Gu, Y., Yang, L., Wang, W., Liu, C., et al. (2025) · Food Chemistry X · doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2025.103090 · Cited by 1
Selective ethanol vapour sensing enabled by amine-functionalized MOF–polyetherimide hybrid membranes
Balaguru, S., Hemanth Kumar., K., Gnanaselvan, G., Arthanareeswaran, G., Viswanathan, M. R., & Sankar, K. (2026) · Materials Chemistry Frontiers · doi:10.1039/d5qm00828j · Cited by 1
Singh, B. P., & Hwang, S. (2026) · Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials · doi:10.1007/s42114-026-01670-5 · Cited by 1
Tang, Q., Liu, Y., Wang, K., Wei, D., Jiao, L., Liu, Y., Wang, R., Yang, G., & Dong, D. (2026) · Computers and Electronics in Agriculture · doi:10.1016/j.compag.2026.111705 · Cited by 1
Ethanol-responsive fluorene-based fluorescent nanoprobes for photodynamic cancer therapy
Mekkeparambath, V., Trivedi, P., Sreejaya, M. M., Reshmi, C., Illam, A. K., Kumar, L. A., Jana, A., Pancharatna, P. D., & Gangopadhyay, M. (2026) · Journal of Materials Chemistry B · doi:10.1039/d6tb00469e · Cited by 1
Hossen, M. S., & Eshkabilov, S. L. (2026) · Smart Agricultural Technology · doi:10.1016/j.atech.2026.102412 · Cited by 1
Electronic Nose-Based Assessment of Cardiovascular Disease Severity Using Blood Analysis
Radogna, A. V., My, G., Gaiardo, A., Grassi, G., Valt, M., & Capone, S. (2026) · IEEE Sensors Letters · doi:10.1109/lsens.2026.3724933 · Cited by 1
Ivanov, G. R., Gorbachev, I. A., & Amova, A. (2021) · International Scientific Symposium Metrology and Metrology Assurance (MMA) · doi:10.1109/mma52675.2021.9610926
Gas Identification by Simultaneous Permeation through Parallel Membranes: Proof of Concept
Marzouk, S. A. M., & Namous, A. J. A. (2022) · Analytical Chemistry · doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.2c00801
Gas-Sensors for NO₂ Detection Based on Multi-Walled Carbon Nanomaterials and Their Mixtures
Lapekin, N. I., Shestakov, A. A., Lazarenko, N. S., & Bannov, A. G. (2022) · International Siberian workshops and tutorials on electron devices and materials · doi:10.1109/edm55285.2022.9855120
A Portable Multichannel Frequency Acquisition System for Resonant Gas Sensor Arrays
Yu, H., Zheng, Z., Wang, X., Kong, X., & Sun, Z. (2022) · Youth Academic Annual Conference of Chinese Association of Automation (YAC) · doi:10.1109/yac57282.2022.10023643
Sensing Performance of Ethanol Microfiber Probe Augmented by ZnO Nanosheet and UV Glue Film
Liu, F., Dang, H., Tian, R., Li, J., Wang, J., & Wang, D. (2023) · Photonics · doi:10.3390/photonics10060656
High-performance fixed-bed in situ mass analyzer—ISMA
Karlsson, A., Lødeng, R., Haugholt, K. H., Myhrvold, E. M., Plassen, M., & Thorshaug, K. (2023) · Review of Scientific Instruments · doi:10.1063/5.0149970
Ivanov, G., & Gechev, S. M. (2023) · AIP conference proceedings · doi:10.1063/5.0145083
Volatile organic compound sensing
Rasheed, T. (2024) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-13255-1.00008-7
Nanoengineering of materials for the chemiresistive sensing of volatile organic compounds
Pandit, D., & Jagadeesan, D. (2024) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-21691-6.00015-9
Baek, G.-Y., Seo, J., Choi, S.-H., & Choi, S. (2025) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.5388284
Apetrei, R., Guven, N., & Çamurlu, P. (2025) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-29904-9.00021-9
Wang, W., Sun, B., & Ai, N. (2026) · Trends in Food Science & Technology · doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2026.105656
Çelik, F. A., Yılmaz, M., & Karabulut, E. (2026) · Applied Physics A · doi:10.1007/s00339-026-09465-7
Akbari, M., Mouharrar, H., Yavuz, M., Abdel-Rahman, E. M., Basrour, S., Muñoz‐Rojas, D., & Musselman, K. P. (2026) · Communications Materials · doi:10.1038/s43246-026-01104-1
Singh, G., ., P., Singh, M., Gill, B. S., Goyal, S., & Bhalla, A. (2026) · New Journal of Chemistry · doi:10.1039/d6nj01122e
A lead-free BCZT thin-film piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer for CO 2
You, J., Li, Z. L., Liu, S., & Cheng, P. (2026) · Smart Materials and Structures · doi:10.1088/1361-665x/ae85ed
A Differential Mass Sensor Based on Two Weakly Coupled Thickness Shear Resonators
Fernández, R., Calero, M., Juste-Dolz, A., Jiménez, Y., & Arnau, A. (2026) · IEEE Sensors Journal · doi:10.1109/jsen.2026.3714574
High-concentration acetone sensing using uncoated silicon microcantilevers
G., A. R., Venkatesh, V. K., Ramaiah, M. R., & Prabakar, K. (2026) · Microsystem Technologies · doi:10.1007/s00542-026-06133-x
Analysing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with SERS by bubbling into colloidal nanoparticles
Colleran, A., Gotts, N., Murray, S., & Goodacre, R. (2026) · The Analyst · doi:10.1039/d6an00673f
Chang, N., Ma, J., Muntaha, S. T., Wang, Z., Xie, M., Hamadi, N. B., Kalam, A., Ali, W., Mateen, M., & Ali, S. (2026) · The Chemical Record · doi:10.1002/tcr.70235
“Smelltronics”—From Gas to Smell Sensing
Ono, T., Takahashi, T., Liu, J., Honda, H., Jing, Z., Tanaka, W., Hosomi, T., & Yanagida, T. (2026) · Advanced Materials · doi:10.1002/adma.202523677 · Cited by 1
Chuey-Mendoza, I., Muñoz-Aguirre, S., Ramírez-Valdés, I. I., Mendoza‐Barrera, C., Castillo-Mixcóatl, J., Beltrán-Pérez, G., Rodríguez-Torres, M., & Altuzar, V. (2026) · Sensors · doi:10.3390/s26185934
Metadata
- Authors
- McGinn, C. K., Lamport, Z. A., & Kymissis, I.
- Affiliations
- Columbia University (US)
- Corresponding author
- McGinn, Christine K.
- Venue
- ACS Sensors
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2020-05-15
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1514-1534
- ISSN
- 2379-3694 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3025930137
- Cited by
- 152
- References
- 217
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 0.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- ACS Sensors (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Division of Graduate Education (DGE-1644869)
- National Science Foundation (EFMA-1641100)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and Sensors
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Acoustic Wave Resonator Technologies
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Spectroscopy › Spectroscopy and Laser Applications
- Keywords
- gravimetric sensing, volatile organic compounds, vapor sensing, resonators, sensitizers, chemiresistors, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, environmental monitoring, commercialization
- MeSH terms
- Gases, Humans, Volatile Organic Compounds
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
