This project, "Rapid and Miniaturized Water Quality Analysis Technology," is led by Professor Ruey-An Doong's team from the Institute of Analytical and Environmental Sciences at National Tsing Hua University. The project aims to solve fundamental challenges in timeliness and accuracy within current water quality monitoring systems. Traditional monitoring relies heavily on laboratory analysis, which suffers from significant drawbacks: the inability to immediately identify pollutant types and concentrations after sampling, time-consuming analysis (by which time pollutants have already been diluted and spread downstream), and limited analytical capacity. While automatic monitoring stations exist, they are expensive, difficult to maintain, and primarily designed for regular monitoring, lacking the capability to respond effectively to sudden pollution events (like illegal industrial dumping).
Therefore, the core content of this project is the research and development of advanced "rapid and miniaturized" detection technologies, aspiring to achieve the goal of "knowing pollution from a single drop of water." The team focuses on creating novel nanomaterials and sensing technologies, such as using graphene quantum dots or other specific nanomaterials, to build highly sensitive and selective chemical sensors for on-site, real-time analysis of specific heavy metals (like mercury ions) or harmful substances in water samples.
Project Results:
This project has successfully developed several innovative rapid water quality detection technologies that overcome the limitations of traditional methods. Key results include:
- High-Sensitivity Nanosensors: The team successfully developed new sensing platforms based on nanomaterials (like graphene quantum dots). These sensors demonstrate excellent performance, such as high selectivity (not interfered with by other metal ions) and a limit of detection (LOD) reaching the nanomolar (nM) level when analyzing mercury ions (Hg2+), far surpassing traditional methods.
- Real-time, On-Site Analysis Capability: Compared to conventional laboratory analyses that require hours or even days, the technology developed in this project drastically reduces detection time to within minutes (e.g., reaction completed in 10 minutes). This makes accurate "on-site analysis" possible at the very time and location a pollution event occurs.
- Bridging the Gap in Sudden Pollution Monitoring: The real-time and miniaturized nature of this technology makes it ideal for tracking sudden, illegal discharge events. It overcomes the difficulty of tracing pollutants after they have been diluted or have flowed downstream, providing environmental agencies with a more agile and accurate tool for enforcement and response.