Monitoring air quality with optical nanosensors

According to reports, the World Health Organization estimates that 7 million people worldwide die from air pollution every year, and monitoring air quality is essential. There are many ways to do this, including ground sensors and in-orbit satellites. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed a new type of optical nanosensor that can be installed on almost ubiquitous streetlights.

Air pollution is a global health problem, and with these small portable sensors, it is simple and inexpensive to measure dangerous emissions very accurately. This optical nanosensor measures low concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in the air, with an accuracy of one part per billion. Exhaust gas from road vehicles is the chief culprit in air pollution from nitrogen dioxide. Even at low levels, nitrogen dioxide can cause serious harm to the human body.

Optical nanosensors measure the change in wavelength of metal nanoparticles when they are irradiated. Although they are currently used to detect nitrogen dioxide, they can also be used to measure other gases in the air. These sensors will be installed on the street lights in Gothenburg and will be installed on the roof of the Nordstan Shopping Centre and in the railway tunnel construction project. Developers say there is a lack of small functional nitric oxide sensors on the market and they find this nanoplasma solution interesting and look forward to test results.

This article is from Allicdata Electronics Limited.