Chapter 24 - Prospects of carbon nanomaterial-based sensors for sustainable future

Abstract

Nanotechnology is the future perspective technology, presenting and contributing to all inventive resourceful areas. It has emerged as a flexible platform for providing solutions to the sustainability challenges of the global community. Nanomaterials, especially those composed of carbon atoms that are termed carbon-based materials or carbon nanomaterials, have been garnering immense attention from the scientific community during the last three decades due to their significant physicochemical properties. These carbon nanomaterials that exists in zero, one, two, and three dimensions such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene, carbon quantum dots, carbon nanohorns, nanodiamonds, carbon nanofibers, carbon nanosheets, carbon nanowires, and carbon black have shown innate characteristics such as high surface area, high mechanical stability, adaptability, and functionality that can be easily utilized in the development of advanced technology for sensing applications. These carbon nanomaterial-based sensors have been used in various fields for the detection of different analytes. Different types of sensors like chemical sensors, electrochemical sensors, biosensors, biochemical sensors, image sensors, and monitoring sensors have been reported in the literature. This chapter deals with prospects and possibilities of the development and applications of carbon nanomaterial-based sensors for a sustainable future.