Metal Oxide–Based Carbon Nanocomposites for Pollutant Nanosensing

Abstract

The ability to survey and monitor environmental pollutants and chemicals, as well as their screening using a noninvasive technique, is the major goal to be met. Hence, there is a pressing need for precise, quick, and reasonable analytical tools that can be routinely utilized for sensing contaminants. In recent years, screening for numerous harmful elements and compounds using chemical/biosensing approaches has attracted a lot of interest. Most of all, nanomaterial-based chemical or biosensing techniques are convenient, practical, and sensitive analyzers that sense chemical and biological agents. Owing to their nanometer size, the increase in the surface/volume ratio with decreasing size, and spatial confinement effects, the nanomaterials have a remarkable difference in their physicochemical properties compared to their bulk-sized counterparts. Likewise, due to their fast, accurate, and reliable operating characteristics, nanomaterial-based sensors (nanosensors) are widely used for detecting toxic analytes in industry, environmental monitoring, food safety, and clinical and nonclinical applications. This chapter's main focus is on the contemporary highlights and advancements in metal oxide–decorated carbon nanocomposite-based sensors and their applications in industry, environmental analytes monitoring, and clinical diagnostics. The first section of the chapter gives an overview of several metal oxides and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), as well as their properties, which can be used to build and create sensors for detecting environmental analytes. Also, this chapter addresses the analysis and different techniques of functionalizing the surface of CNTS with different linkers, including the organic polymers and metallic nanoclusters, which are used to attach metal oxide nanoparticles to the surface of CNTs. Furthermore, the detection mechanisms and limitations of metal oxide nanoparticle–CNT sensors are discussed.