A recent comprehensive review offers a systematic assessment of BiFeO₃-based sensor technologies, exploring how this multiferroic material can be engineered to enable high-performance sensing across multiple detection modes.

Published in Advanced Materials, the review was led by Associate Prof. MA Nan from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with researchers from Kyushu University (Japan) and the CAS Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems.

The review systematically discusses the structure-property relationships of BiFeO₃, while summarizing recent advances in synthesis strategies and modification approaches. It further analyzes how these regulatory methods impact the performance of various sensor types, including photodetectors, pressure sensors, gas sensors, humidity sensors, and biosensors.

Notably, the researchers focused on the key microscopic mechanisms that govern sensing behavior. They examined three fundamental processes: band structure modulation, which influences the material's light absorption and ferroelectric integrity, thereby determining its response to optical and electrical stimuli; defect-mediated effects on ferroelectricity, bandgap, charge transport, and surface adsorption, which collectively affect photoresponse and gas/humidity sensing performance; and surface adsorption-driven interfacial chemical reactions, which govern the performance of gas, humidity, and biosensors.

Drawing on these mechanistic insights, the review summarizes diverse strategies for enhancing sensor performance, such as morphology control, defect regulation, ferroelectric domain engineering, and hetero-interface design. These approaches play a critical role in modulating polarization behavior, charge transport, light-matter interactions, and surface adsorption processes—ultimately leading to improved sensing performance in photodetectors, pressure sensors, gas sensors, humidity sensors, and biosensors.

The researchers noted that with their multi-field coupling and multifunctional properties, BiFeO₃-based sensors are particularly well-suited for applications in environmental monitoring, healthcare and biomedical diagnostics, industrial automation, and energy systems.