In recent years, nanosensor technology has experienced extraordinarily rapid development as a result of the extensive scientific efforts in achieving improved nanofabrication techniques and advanced understanding of nanoscale phenomena. Carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNs), such as fullerene, graphene, carbon nanotubes, and carbon dots, have recently gained considerable attention among scientific communities due to their unique combinations of chemical and physical properties. Thanks to the intensive research efforts carried out by researchers, the CBNs have found their place in a wide range of applications, and they stand out as novel nanosensors due to their outstanding performance in detecting heavy metal ions, food additives, and toxic pesticides, as well as reporting sensors for bioimaging.

Desirable CBNs for sensing applications can be produced by well-controlled methods to possess specific functionalities via surface modification and doping with heteroatoms. Such modified CBNs have the potential to sensitively and selectively target specific molecules based on their unique fluorescent and luminescent properties. The potential advances of multidisciplinary scientific efforts offer opportunities to exploit CBNs with desirable sensing selectivity and sensitivity to satisfy the needs of environmental monitoring, food safety control, healthcare, homeland security, and so forth.

This special issue welcomes high-quality research articles as well as reviews that seek to address recent development on the preparation, characterization, applications of CBNs as nanosensors, sensing mechanism study, and the relevant prospect opportunities and challenges.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Preparation and characterization of CBNs
• Methodologies for separation, purification, and scale-up of CBNs
• Techniques for improvement of the sensing properties (i.e., surface functionalization and doping surface with heteroatoms) of CBNs
• CBNs-based nanohybrids for sensing applications
• CBNs-based nanocomposite film for sensing applications
• CBNs for in vitro and in vivo sensing applications
• Application of CBNs as imaging sensors
• Theoretical investigation on the sensing mechanism behind CBNs
• Prospects on advances, opportunities, and challenges of CBNs as nanosensors