Potential of carbon nanotubes for sensor applications

Due to their unique electrical and mechanical properties carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are the most studied material in the nanotechnology. These material properties involve interesting advantages for sensors, such as a short reaction time, a higher sensitivity and novel sensing principles. In this paper we evaluate the potential of CNTs for different sensor applications. Although nanotechnology is still under development, several sensors can be already realized showing decisive advantages compared with nowadays sensors for several measured quantities.Three different categories of CNT based sensors are reported: analytical sensors which are based on the interaction of CNTs with ions and molecules, mechanical sensors which are based on the piezoresistivity of CNTs and optical sensors which profit from the high absorption rates of CNT and their unique optical properties.