An international project involving researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) is receiving 3.2 million euros from the European research and innovation program “Horizon 2020” to develop a cost-effective method for measuring certain air pollutants. The team, whose members hail from both industry and science, aims to develop electrical sensors to detect harmful particles in the atmosphere. Air pollution is considered a major cause of more than 400,000 premature deaths in the European Union each year. Accurately measuring it, however, still poses major challenges for researchers.
Detecting radicals worldwide in real time
The sensor mechanism essentially works like this: The electrically charged target molecules interact with the nanowire surface, changing the wire’s electrical conductivity. These interactions are thus directly converted into easily detectable electrical signals. The scientists ensure the selectivity of the highly sensitive sensors by functionalizing the surface of the nanowire, affixing a layer of molecules to its surface that will only bind the target molecules.