Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract/Objectives

Heavy metal ion contamination has become a global problem. The typical detection method is done by water samples collected in filed and sent to a laboratory and detected by Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), Flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FLAA), or graphite crucible atomic absorption spectrometry. However, these methods require a lot of labor work for collection and pre-treatment. It is expensive and time-consuming. Ion-selective electrode (ISE) can be made as a portable device, but its detection limit is not good enough to satisfy the regulation. Thus, this project will develop highly sensitive and selective field-effect transistor-based heavy metal ion sensors, which can perform the detection limit as good as ICP-MS, and on the other hand, can connect to wireless and Internet. Finally, due to the small size, simplicity, low cost, and real-time detection, the sensor array fabricated on one chip can monitor lead, cadmium, and mercury ions simultaneously in drinking water, vegetables, and Chinese medicine. Finally, a hand-held readout device will also be developed and transit signals to smartphones with Blue Tooth, followed by data transmission to the cloud for further Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications.

Results/Contributions

This project has successfully developed lead, mercury, and cadmium ion sensors, combined with field-effect transistors and ion-selective membranes, so that the detection limit of the sensor can be 3 to 4 orders of magnitude lower than the regulatory threshold, and it can even be compared with the laboratory compared with large-scale machines (ICP-MS), while the sensitivity exceeds the ideal Nernst sensitivity; in the discussion of pH and ionic strength, the performance of the sensor under different test environments is also found, which is conducive to subsequent development. In the future, this project will also focus on the development of palm-sized circuit measurement devices and the development of sensor arrays, so that one test piece can measure three different heavy metals at the same time, increasing the breadth of its application. We can do our best to detect drinking water, vegetables, plants, and traditional Chinese medicine so that people can eat drinking water, vegetables, plants, and traditional Chinese medicine with peace of mind.

Keywords

Heavy Metal SensorHeavy metal pollutionDrinking water testingChinese Medicine TestingVegetable plant testing

References

Contact Information

許振彬
kenneybin@gmail.com