There are two main characteristics that suggest carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as promising candidates for extremely sensitive gas sensors. First, as one-dimensional systems, their “quantum nature” makes the CNT intrinsic properties highly sensitive to very tiny external perturbations. Second, the amount of active surface area is huge. Many experimental evidences demonstrate the high sensitivity of CNTs to several molecular species in gas phase, both organic and inorganic. Although most of the experimental reports must be taken cum grano salis and a number of technical problems must be deeply investigated and solved, there is the effective possibility to a sensor technology based on CNTs within the next five years. Coatings and/or functionalization are the goals.

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