Metal Oxide Semiconductor Nanostructures Surface Properties for Gas Sensing – A Review

Pollutants that regularly degrade natural environmental conditions are caused by expanding population, industrial emissions, automobile exhaust, and open burning of garbage. It is vital to monitor these contaminants on an ongoing basis in order to prevent environmental degradation. A gas sensor monitors the concentration of gases in the atmosphere. The sensor creates a potential difference based on the gas concentration by changing the resistance of the substance inside the sensor. Semiconducting Metal oxides Nanostructures (MON’s) are the primary choice due to the ease with which they can be manufactured, their low cost, their high sensitivity, and their stability but limited by selectivity and a high operating temperature. Additionally, nanoscale materials readily aggregate due to Van der Waals attraction resulting in dense and large secondary aggregates leading to delay in gas reaction. Therefore, MON’s surface characteristics are examined in this review paper in maximizing its utility in environmental monitoring applications.