Nanomaterial-based Sensors vs Conventional Sensors

When it comes to sensing technology, there are two main categories: nanomaterial-based sensors and conventional sensors. Both types of sensors have advantages and disadvantages, and the choice of which to use depends heavily on the application. In this blog post, we'll provide an unbiased comparison of nanomaterial-based sensors and conventional sensors, exploring the pros and cons of each type.

What are Nanomaterial-based Sensors?

Nanomaterial-based sensors are sensors that use nanomaterials as their sensing element. These can take various forms, such as nanoparticles, nanotubes, or nanowires. Nanomaterials have unique properties due to their extremely small size, which can be exploited in sensing applications.

What are Conventional Sensors?

Conventional sensors use traditional sensing materials, such as metals, polymers, and ceramics, to detect changes in their environment. These sensors typically rely on changes in resistance, capacitance, or other physical properties to detect the presence of a target.

Performance Comparison

Sensitivity

Nanomaterial-based sensors have shown to be far more sensitive than conventional sensors, thanks to their unique surface properties. For example, a study from 2017 found that a nanowire-based sensor was 100 times more sensitive than a commercially-available gas sensor. This high sensitivity is due to the large surface area-to-volume ratio of nanomaterials, which allows for more interactions between the sensor and target.

Specificity

Conventional sensors can be engineered to be highly specific to one type of target, while nanomaterial-based sensors are often more general. This is because nanomaterials have a range of surface properties that can interact with many different types of targets, making it difficult to achieve high specificity.

Reliability

Conventional sensors are typically more reliable than nanomaterial-based sensors. Nanomaterials have a tendency to degrade over time due to oxidation, which can cause them to lose sensitivity over time. In addition, nanomaterials are more prone to interference from other substances, which can negatively affect their performance.

Cost Comparison

One major advantage of conventional sensors is that they are generally less expensive than nanomaterial-based sensors. This is because traditional sensing materials are readily-available and can be produced at a large scale, while the production of nanomaterials is often expensive and time-consuming.

Future of Sensors

Overall, both nanomaterial-based sensors and conventional sensors have their advantages and disadvantages. While nanomaterial-based sensors offer significantly higher sensitivity, they are often less specific and less reliable than conventional sensors. In contrast, conventional sensors are generally more reliable and less expensive than nanomaterial-based sensors. However, as the technology for producing nanomaterials becomes more advanced and efficient, we can expect to see an increase in the use of nanomaterial-based sensors in many different applications.

References

• Zhang, H., Lv, R., Wang, X., & Xiang, Q. (2017). High-performance formaldehyde sensing using a ZnO/SnO2 heterostructure nanowire-based sensor. Scientific reports, 7(1), 1-9.
• Khan, S. S., & Alam, M. (2018). Nanomaterials-based flexible sensors for biomedical applications. Nanotechnology, Science and Applications, 11, 29.