Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely investigated as chemical sensing materials due to their periodic porosity, tunable chemical functionalities such as Lewis acid/base sites, potential conductivity and/or sensitive optical properties. However, most sensor devices require the integration of the sensing material as a thin film, which presents significant synthetic and stability challenges for MOF materials. In this review, we provide a background on why MOFs are excellent candidates for the chemical sensing of various analytes (i.e. gases, ions, pH), as well as different techniques for MOF thin film growth and the challenges associated with each method. Examples of different MOF thin film chemical sensor devices will be discussed, as well as their various transduction mechanisms: electrical, optical, and acoustic. The review concludes with an outlook on potential future innovations for MOF thin film chemical sensors, and the remaining challenges associated with real-world implementation.

Microfluidic reactors have remarkably promoted the synthesis and investigation of advanced nanomaterials due to their continuous mode and accelerated heat/mass transfer. Notably, segmented microfluidic flow reactors (SMFRs) are an important class of microfluidic reactors that have been developed to accurately manipulate nanomaterial synthesis by further improvement of the residence time distributions and unique flow behaviors. This review provided a survey of the nanomaterial synthesis in SMFRs for the aspects of fluid dynamics, flow patterns, and mass transfer among and within distinct phases and provided examples of the synthesis of versatile nanomaterials via the use of different flow patterns.