Environmental Monitoring Odds by Carbon Nanotubes: A Sustainable Approach

Abstract

There have been and continue to be numerous initiatives worldwide to create and establish flexible adaptive systems for environmental monitoring at various levels. After the Conference for Environment in Stockholm 1972 and the first report to the Club of Rome „Limits of the Growth“, which was published that same year, it was finally realized that technological advancement can have unintended consequences. As a result of the current situation being acknowledged, discussions about potential remedies have begun on a global scale. The Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development defines the notion of sustainable development as a viable resolution after extensive deliberations on both the scientific and sociopolitical levels.  Following this, numerous initiatives have emphasized the need to address the evolution of technical, economic, environmental, and social systems by taking into account physical, chemical, biological, economic, and social processes.  Registered advancements in the technological and physics fields, which serve as the foundation for improvements and advancements in nanotechnology, have highlighted the existence of its multiple using odds also in environmental field. Particularly, it appears that the use of carbon nanotubes, or CNTs, for environmental protection has advanced the subject. Designing environmental sensors with CNTs is a first step toward carrying out effective environmental monitoring for environmental protection. CNT-based sensor is of great interest due to its small size, simplicity, low cost, on-site determination, high sensitivity, high selectivity, and fast response time.