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So far, one of the most promising applications of nanoscale science and technology has been in the area of field emission. The electric field amplification effects associated with sharp nanostructure tips can be used to significantly reduce the emission voltages. Another equally promising area that also takes advantage of the field amplification effects is the area of field ionization. The extremely high electrical fields generated near the vicinity of sharp nanostructure tips can be used to ionize chemical or biological species at a fraction of the voltage of a traditional ionizer. In this article we review two of the very first reported papers related to nanoscale field ionization published by our group at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The first paper describes a carbon nanotube gas ionizer, which shows potential for gas sensing applications. The second paper describes an ultra low-power gas ionizer featuring β-phase Tungsten nanorod electrodes. We end with a review of the major challenges that must be overcome to develop nanoscale ionization sensors.

Some people think that carbon and sustainable development are not compatible. This textbook shows that carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air and bio-carbon from biomass are our best allies in the energy transition, towards greater sustainability. We pose the problem of the decarbonation (or decarbonization) of our economy by looking at ways to reduce our dependence on fossil carbon (coal, petroleum, natural gas, bitumen, carbonaceous shales, lignite, peat). The urgent goal is to curb the exponential increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and hydrosphere (Figures 1.1 and 1.2) that is directly related to our consumption of fossil carbon for our energy and materials The goal of the Paris agreement (United Nations COP 21, Dec. 12, 2015) of limiting the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees (compared to the pre-industrial era, before 1800) is becoming increasingly unattainable (Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), report of Aug. 6, 2021). On Aug. 9, 2021 Boris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom, declared that coal needs to be consigned to history to limit global warming. CO₂ has an important social cost…