SENSORS
Nanotubes measure oxygen
Under the right conditions, these carbon nanotubes coated with titanium dioxide react to oxygen. | Graphic: L. Wettstein et al. (2024)
Máté Bezdek and his team at ETH Zurich have been developing a new type of oxygen sensor that only needs light as its power source. It generates the electricity it requires by means of carbon nanotubes coated with titanium dioxide, just like those used in solar cells. A chemical coupled to it reacts specifically to oxygen when placed under green light, leading in turn to a measurable change in electrical resistance. The sensors are small, robust and inexpensive, and could also be modified easily to measure other substances, says Bezdek. They could be employed, for example, in environmental monitoring.
