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(Health-NewsWire.Net, December 16, 2015 ) Smartphones are at its peak these days with innovative features and classy designs. Reports from a study conducted by Australian and Chinese researchers say that people could soon be using their smartphones to detect air pollution. “This revolutionary method we have developed is a great start to creating a handheld, low-cost and personalized NO2 sensor that can even be incorporated into smartphones.” - says Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh, Project leader and Professor at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.
Theory behind this finding
Diesel engines are one of the main contributors of harmful nitrogen dioxide gas, which can have a serious impact on the health of people in urban areas. Nitrogen dioxide is considered to be a deadly air pollutant that contributes to more than 7 million deaths worldwide each year, says the experts at World Health Organization (WHO). Nitrogen dioxide increases the risk if respiratory disorders in children and can severely affect the elderly people in particular. The negative effects of nitrogen dioxide could be prevented using reliable monitoring systems that could detect harmful levels of the gas early, Kalantar-Zadeh said.
“This method we have developed is not only more cost-effective, it also works better than the sensors currently used to detect this dangerous gas” - Kalantar-Zadeh said. He developed the new method for sensing nitrogen dioxide together with fellow RMIT researchers and colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The sensors, which operate by physically absorbing nitrogen dioxide gas molecules onto flakes of tin disulphide, a yellowish brown pigment generally used in varnish for gilding. To create sensors, researchers transformed this material into flakes just a few atoms thick. The large surface area of these flakes has a high affinity to nitrogen dioxide molecules that allows its highly selective absorption.
This study was published in the journal ACS Nano project. Developed by Australian and Chinese researchers, their findings help smartphone users to combat a deadly form of air pollution, which could detect the harmful levels of the gas at early stages.
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Source: EmailWire.Com 
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