Researchers Present Better Ways to Detect Ethylene Gas
Background
The simplest alkene, ethylene, is composed of two double-bonded carbon atoms and four hydrogen atoms. With an ambient air concentration of around 2 parts per billion (ppb), it can readily diffuse in the air.
One of the main precursors for rapid ozone generation in metropolitan settings is ethylene, which is formed in atmospheric chemistry from industrial emissions and vehicle exhausts. Thus, ethylene emissions that are not under control pose a major risk to human health by raising the level of ozone in the troposphere or at ground level. Exogenous ethylene can also metabolically transform into the mutagenic and cancer-causing compound ethylene oxide in the human body.
Endogenous ethylene can result in systemic development in the liver and/or bacterial generation of poisonous ethylene oxide, posing potential health hazards. It is therefore vitally necessary for the horticultural, agricultural, and healthcare industries to design and manufacture very selective, sensitive, and highly stable gas sensors that can conduct the real-time detection of sub-ppm or ppb concentrations of ethylene gas molecules. The concentration of a particular target gas in a complex gas combination can be detected using improved nanostructured sensing materials, according to reports. Although the tiny size, lack of polar chemical functionality, and limited physiochemical reactivity of ethylene gas make its detection at low concentrations difficult, nondestructive methods and chemical reaction techniques are currently being extensively and widely researched to accomplish this goal.
About the Study
In this study, the authors provided a thorough review of the most advanced ethylene gas detection technologies, ranging from gas chromatographic systems with preconcentrators to Fourier transform infrared technology (FTIR), photoacoustic and surface acoustic wave sensors, photonic crystal fiber-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, printable optically colorimetric sensor arrays, and a wide variety of nanostructured chemiresistive gas sensors including the potentiometric and amperometric-type field effect transistor-, carbon nanotube- and metal oxide-based sensors.
The team proposed a potential roadmap for the advancement of ethylene detection in the near future after a comprehensive discussion of the nanofabrication processes, operating circumstances, and sensing performance of various sensors/technologies.
The researchers examined and discussed recent developments in cutting-edge low-concentration ethylene gas detection technologies, their fabrication methods, operational settings, sensing mechanisms, performances, and corresponding limits of detection. A potential road map for the future development of highly sensitive and selective ethylene gas-sensing technologies was also suggested. Read More...
