Integrating gas sensors with emerging technologies is crucial for developing next-generation real-time, low-power and highly selective chemical sensing applications for environmental monitoring, healthcare, industrial safety and smart systems. The current chapter offers a thorough summary of the advancements in materials, architecture, and systems that will drive gas sensing technologies in the future. The role of new nanomaterials, especially two-dimensional (2D) materials like transition metal dichalcogenides, and their hybrids with catalytic nanoparticles, which provide remarkable surface-to-volume ratios, adjustable electronic characteristics, and improved sensitivity/selectivity profiles, is where it starts. The integration of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), which are well-known for their great mechanical strength and electric conductivity, as key components in sensor transduction layers and composite sensing systems is then covered in detail in the chapter. The chapter also focuses to the design aspects that are crucial to the real-world application of sensors. Device downsizing, insulation against environmental interference, and interface to flexible or wearable substrates are the three main areas of analysis for the packaging technologies. In order to minimize cross-sensitivity, improve long-term sensor stability, and facilitate molecular sieving, advances in selective membranes and surface coatings are discussed. The chapter also looks at developments in the design and production of micro-heaters, which are essential for actuating sensing surfaces, permitting thermal desorption, and maintaining sensor performance during low-power operation. These micro-heaters, which are commonly used in MEMS platforms, are essential for enhancing recovery rates and reaction times, especially in thermally actuated sensor systems. These topics work together to provide a roadmap for the simple integration of gas sensors into complex systems, enabling intelligent and self-sufficient sensing networks. A perspective for next advancements, including sensor fusion, AI-based interpretation, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications, concludes the chapter.
