A highly sensitive ion-selective chemiresistive sensor for online monitoring of lead ions in water.
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Darestani-Farahani M; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada. pkruse@mcmaster.ca.; Mendoza Montealegre I; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada. pkruse@mcmaster.ca.; Tavakkoli Gilavan M; School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L7, Canada.; Kirby T; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada. pkruse@mcmaster.ca.; Selvaganapathy PR; School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L7, Canada.; Department of Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L7, Canada.; Kruse P; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada. pkruse@mcmaster.ca.
- Source
- Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 0372652 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1364-5528 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00032654 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Analyst Subsets: PubMed not MEDLINE; MEDLINE
- Subject
- Language
- English
Dissolved lead is a serious but common health hazard in drinking water, yet there is still no practical way to monitor its levels continuously in the distribution system or at the point of use. Here we propose using a lead-selective membrane on top of a chemiresistive device to continuously measure Pb 2+ ion concentrations in real time. The detection limit was lowered by stabilizing the surface of the resistive film with sodium hydroxide and 15-crown-5 ether and optimizing the sensor geometry to maximize the effective surface area. The detection mechanism is based on the complexation of the Pb 2+ ions by the lead ionophores within the membrane, thus modulating the interactions between the ionophores and the chemiresistive film. The limit of detection of the fabricated devices was reliably below 2 μg L -1 , with concentrations up to 3 mg L -1 routinely quantifiable over several measurement cycles. The chemiresistive sensors can thus achieve lower detection limits than potentiometric devices while being more robust and simpler to fabricate by omitting the reference electrode. Ion-selective membrane-covered chemiresistors can therefore be deployed to continuously monitor drinking water sources and detect harmful levels of lead in real time.