Array of metal oxide nanostructures for nerve agent detection and food quality

Increasing concern on health threat due to pollution or terrorist attacks stimulated the research on gas sensing for real-time monitoring of all aspects of indoor and outdoor environments. Industrial requirements for a sensor include high sensitivity and selectivity together with good stability, as well as low fabrication costs. Conductometric gas sensors based on metal oxide semiconductors are, among all possible technological approaches, the most promising for the development of low cost and reliable sensors. Metal oxide nanostructures were synthetized using catalyst-assisted evaporation/condensation processes. Structural and compositional characterization has been performed in order to confirm the characteristics of material investigated. Results on the application of metal oxide sensors in security and safety have been presented.