Nano-engineered surfaces for mercury vapor sensing: Current state and future possibilities

Mercury is a well-known toxic element and it has been claimed that 75,000 new-born babies in USA alone are at risk of neurological diseases due to high mercury concentration in their mothers' bloodstream during pregnancy. The preventative measures of mercury need to start from the detection and removal of the elemental form as (i) it represents 66-94% of anthropogenic air emissions, (ii) is hard to detect/remove and (iii) it can travel over long distances globally before converting to more toxic forms (oxidized/organic mercury). Therefore elemental mercury needs to be detected and removed at its point source before it can be converted into the more toxic compounds. Here, we undergo a comprehensive review on the development and progress of solid-state-based elemental mercury vapor sensors which stand out from the well-established area of mercury ion sensing.