UpbeatA flash of light lasting a hundredth of a second could make polluted air easier to catch
Nitrogen dioxide is a harmful gas that is hard to spot at low levels. Researchers in South Korea have found a shortcut to building sensors that can: a single 10-millisecond flash of intense light — hot enough to briefly reach about 1,811°C — turns a mineral powder into flakes of molybdenum disulfide studded with individual platinum atoms. The platinum-topped flakes reacted far more strongly to the gas at room temperature, detecting it down to about 17 parts per billion. The work, from KAIST and Hanyang University, is published in Advanced Materials.
The upbeat factora sensor made in the blink of an eye could one day sniff out pollution street by street, in real time.
SDG 9 · Industry, innovation and infrastructure — Mechanism: tech innovation
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