Nanocomposites and nanomaterials

Metaloxide nanostructures for ecological monitoring
S.V. Nahirniak, T.A. Dontsova, A.V. Lapinsky
Department of Chemistry, National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, Prospect Peremogy 37, Kiev-03056, Ukraine. 
E-mail: nagirnyak_sv@ukr.net

Metaloxide nanomaterials and nanocomposites become increasingly promising for the ecological applications, in particular SnO2-based nanostructures show the great prospect for the ecological monitoring as gas sensitive materials [1]. For today the area of gas sensors applications has considerably expanded.
In addition to the common applications for environmental control, analysis of the gas environment in the workplace in industry and the detection of explosives, metal oxide gas sensors have been used as devices for food quality control and for diseases diagnosis in medicine. The use of metaloxide nanomaterials as sensitive layers in the agrarian industry is rather new and attracts considerable attention due to the possibility of monitoring and quality control of the soil based on data from the soil air.
The composition of soil air is similar to atmospheric and contains mainly such gases as O2, N2, CO2, as well as hydrogen, ammonia, methane and hydrogen sulfide in small quantities. Different types of soil characterized by various soil air composition and the change in the soil composition, for example by adding fertilizers [2], effects directly the quantitative composition of the soil air. Thus, the composition of soil air directly reflects the soil fertility. But, to date there is no established relationship between the components of the soil gas phase, in particular the content of CO2, O2, NOx, and its quality and fertility. From this point of view chemoresistive sensor elements have the great prospects, as they will allow to develop the online-method for the determining the type of soil, which will allow to assess its quality and based on the obtained data to calculate the correct rate of mineral fertilizer.

1.	Dontsova T.A., Nagirnyak S.V., Zhorov V.V., Yasiievych Y.V. SnO2 nanostructures: effect of processing parameters on their structural and functional properties // NanoScale Research Letters. – 2017. – 12:332 – P. 1-7.
2.	Simojoki A., Jaakkola A. Effect of nitrogen fertilization, cropping and irrigation on soil air composition and nitrous oxide emission in a loamy clay // European Journal of Soil Science. – 2000. – 51. – P. 413-424.