ABSTRACT
Pollution is a menace to the world, particularly in developing countries where rising populations and proportionate demand for energy have worsened the situation. Pollutants in the earth’s atmosphere, mainly carbon oxides and nitrogen oxides in the air are already at a peak level, and still increasing at an alarming rate. Currently, 85 % (approximately) of the total energy needs of the world is met by burning fossil fuels. Generation of energy by simple combustion of fossil fuels releases large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. At the same time, nitrogen oxides from various noxious industrial wastes are among the major pollutants which badly affect the air and water quality. CO2 and NOx, together, bring major challenges to the living ecosystems. These pollutants exhibit their harmful effects within a very narrow concentration range. Therefore, detection of these pollutants is very important. In this regard, there is a pressing need for research on the development of new materials that can sense these pollutants. Though there are various materials available, those act as sensors for these pollutants, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of materials, proven to be efficient sensors for CO2 and NOx. Due to their structural features, MOFs not only detect but also store these pollutants adequately.
