Carbon Nanotube Based Sensors

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon nanotubes have been among the most-studied materials of the past three decades. The high surface-to-volume ratio, combined with chemical and thermal stability, mechanical strength and flexibility, high current carrying capability and controllable bandgap, have made them the material of choice for a variety of sensing applications.

Single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes, individual or in the form of ultrathin networks or thin films, have been exploited in a countless amount of fast, sensitive and inexpensive sensors for chemical and biological agents, radiation, temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.

The high sensitivity of the electronic properties of carbon nanotubes to molecules adsorbed on their surface make them an ideal material for the development of chemical and biological sensors. Gas sensors with high selectivity and sensitivity were demonstrated soon after their discovery in 1991. Functionalized by carboxyl and amino groups, metallic nanoparticles or polymers, carbon nanotubes led to the formation of chemically active sensors. Boundary-modified nanotubes were proposed for the identification of metallic atoms and their ions. Oxidation and reduction reactions occurring during the interaction with biomolecules has enabled a special group of carbon nanotube-based electrochemical and biological sensors (biosensors). Carbon nanotubes have been used for the detection of DNA, enzymes, proteins, glucose, etc. The ultra-small size has enabled a new generation of wearable sensors for the monitoring of daily activities or for medical purposes.

The temperature dependence of the electrical transport in carbon nanotubes has made possible the fabrication of small-size thermistors with fast responses over a wide range of temperatures. Carbon nanotubes are used as pressure sensors or strain gauges in a variety of configurations, where physical mechanisms such as the changing conductivity of films on stress or the modulation of their field emission current have been exploited. Individual or groups of nanotubes have been widely employed for electromagnetic radiation detection, from the ultraviolet to the terahertz. Environmental radioactivity monitoring or dosimetry with carbon nanotubes is a very active research field. The appearance of a voltage on single-wall nanotube bundles in the direction of a liquid flow has allowed the development of sensitive nanotube-based flow sensors.   

The Special Issue “Carbon Nanotube Sensors” aims to summarize the state of the art of the research and the technology on carbon nanotube-based sensors. The Special Issue includes, but is not limited to,  the following applications:

• Chemical sensors
• Detection of metallic atoms
• Biosensors
• Immunosensors
• DNA, enzyme, protein sensors
• Electrochemical sensors
• Vapor sensors
• Humidity sensors
• Strain gauge
• Pressure sensors
• Temperature sensors
• Bolometers
• Photodetectors
• Radiation detectors
• Flow sensors

The purpose of the Special Issue is to collect original research papers or review articles. Although the emphasis is on practical applications, we also welcome fundamental studies.

Sincerely,

Prof. Dr. Antonio Di Bartolomeo
Guest Editor

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