Nano-sensor design and development for characterizing nitrous oxide (n2o) emissions from agricultural crops in colombia and uk

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is estimated to contribute significantly as a greenhouse gas to global warming. N2O is also predicted to be the single most important contributor to ozone-depleting [1]. The atmospheric increase of N2O is mostly due to anthropogenic emissions related to agriculture, and ~50% of the total anthropogenic flux is emitted from agricultural soils [2]. Due to agricultural intensification, mainly fertilizer use, is expected to increase significantly N2O emissions by 2030 [3]. Assessing N2O emissions from agriculture and natural soils is therefore vital for developing crops with lower greenhouse gas emissions, and for characterizing their environmental impact. Unfortunately, conventional techniques to quantify volatile organic compounds at very low wt% concentrations are bound to be expensive and non-portable chromatographic or spectrographic instruments. Here, we propose the development of a sensor using high-surface area nanostructured metal organic frameworks (MOFs) capable of absorbing N2O and providing a signal transduction associated to the molecular content of this greenhouse gas at sub ppm levels. We propose an in-silico first-principles based screening of different MOF materials for N2O capture, and the development and validation of a laboratory prototype that can be later tested in an agricultural setting.