IntroductionEthylene (C2H4) is one of the simplest hydrocarbons existing.Its limited chemical functionality makes its detection at lowconcentration a non-trivial problem; nonetheless its precise quan-tification, at least at ppm level, represents a very topical issue forseveral reasons. The principal one is that, in spite of its structuralsimplicity, ethylene is an important vegetal hormone involved inseveral essential processes in plants life such as: seed germination,cell elongation, fertilization, fruit ripening, seed dispersal, defenseagainst pathogens and response to external stress factors