Nanomaterials hold great promise for gas sensing owing to their high surface-to-volume ratios, tunable surface chemistries, and diverse dimensional structures. However, their practical implementation remains limited by the lack of reliable integration strategies capable of precise, uniform, and damage-free patterning. Conventional photoresist-based patterning approaches often suffer from poor pattern fidelity and introduce chemical damage, degrading the intrinsic properties of nanomaterials and compromising sensor performance. These challenges stem from exposing sensitive nanomaterials to chemically aggressive environments during the fabrication process. Herein, we present a universal nanomaterial integration strategy that employs a mechanically peelable polymer film as a protective masking layer in place of conventional photoresist. This photoresist-free approach enables high-resolution and contamination-free patterning while maintaining the intrinsic properties of nanomaterials. It provides a robust platform for integrating diverse nanomaterials into sensor architectures, paving the way for the practical realization of high-performance, uniform, and reproducible gas sensor arrays.
Tang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.