Sensors based on single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNTs) could be 'reset' at the simple flick of a switch, say researchers in the US. The team found that organic molecules bound to the nanotube surface are shaken off when an electric current is passed through the material, resetting the sensor ready for further use.SWNTs can be used in very small, highly sensitive chemical sensors for a variety of gases and other chemicals. The SWNTs, attached to a silicon substrate, absorb chemicals onto their surface, however many chemicals are irreversibly absorbed resulting in lengthy processes before the sensor can be reused.Richard Masel and colleagues at...