Nanostructured metal oxide semiconductor-based sensors for greenhouse gas detection: progress and challenges

Climate change and global warming have been two massive concerns for the scientific community during the last few decades. Anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) have greatly amplified the level of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere which results in the gradual heating of the atmosphere. The precise measurement and reliable quantification of GHGs emission in the environment are of the utmost priority for the study of climate change. The detection of GHGs such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone is the first and foremost step in finding the solution to manage and reduce the concentration of these gases in the Earth's atmosphere. The nanostructured metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) based technologies for sensing GHGs emission have been found most reliable and accurate. Owing to their fascinating structural and morphological properties metal oxide semiconductors become an important class of materials for GHGs emission sensing technology. In this review article, the current concentration of GHGs in the Earth's environment, dominant sources of anthropogenic emissions of these gases and consequently their possible impacts on human life have been described briefly. Further, the different available technologies for GHG sensors along with their principle of operation have been largely discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of each sensor technology have also been highlighted. In particular, this article presents a comprehensive study on the development of various NMOS-based GHGs sensors and their performance analysis in order to establish a strong detection technology for the anthropogenic GHGs. In the last, the scope for improved sensitivity, selectivity and response time for these sensors, their future trends and outlook for researchers are suggested in the conclusion of this article.