Environmental gas sensing

Solid-electrolyte sensors for detecting air pollutants are urgently needed for the sake of environmental protection. Rapid progress is being marked in the development of sensors for CO₂, NO₂, NO, SO₂, ozone and fluorocarbons. Some of them, such as the CO₂ sensor, have almost reached a stage of practical application, while others are very promising. Most of these sensors have been fabricated with ceramic materials that are solid electrolytes and oxide semiconductors. The current status of research and development for air-pollutant sensing is described briefly.