Graphene based pH microsensor networks for Blue Carbon monitoring

大气中二氧化碳引起的海洋酸度上升导致浅表层水域中溶解的无机碳(DIC)。DIC可以被认为是小分子(即溶解的二氧化碳、碳酸氢盐和碳酸盐)中与氧结合的溶解碳。DIC与大气中的二氧化碳和所谓的“蓝碳”都是平衡的，蓝碳是海洋中的碳，在沿海和海洋生态系统中以碳链、动植物(即有机碳)的形式结合在一起。对于这个项目非常重要的是，PH值是可以在河流和海洋中连续测量的为数不多的关键参数之一，可以观察DIC并帮助我们控制和监测我们碳排放的影响和效果。我们的目标是直接解决目前缺乏能够承受河流和海洋恶劣条件的PH值传感器的问题，方法是制造低成本的石墨烯材料，这些材料足够“坚固”和“敏感”，足以成为未来的主流环境传感器网络。该提案采取了问题驱动、多学科的方法，以制定一种具有成本效益的解决方案，以监测DIC以及排放到河流和沿海水域的碳的影响。我们的跨学科团队打算通过专注于石墨烯传感器的开发来推动pH测量传感器的发展，使之与这一重大社会挑战保持一致，并准备与领先的行业领先技术对接。

The rising acidity in the oceans from CO2 in the atmosphere contributes to dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the shallow surface waters. DIC can be considered as the dissolved carbon bound to oxygen in small molecules (i.e. dissolved CO2, bicarbonate and carbonate). DIC is in balance with both the atmospheric CO2 and what is termed 'Blue Carbon', which is carbon in the ocean bound up as carbon chains, plants and animals (i.e. organic carbon) in coastal and marine ecosystems. Important to this project, pH is one of the few critical parameters that can be measured continuously in rivers and oceans to observe DIC and help us control and monitor the impact and effect of our carbon emissions. Our aim is to directly address the current lack of pH sensors available that can withstand the harsh conditions of rivers and oceans by making low cost graphene materials that are sufficiently 'robust' and 'sensitive' to become the mainstream environmental sensor networks of the future. The proposal takes a problem-driven, multidisciplinary approach to develop a cost-effective solution to monitoring DIC and the impacts of carbon released into rivers and coastal waters. Our interdisciplinary team intend to advance sensors for pH measurement via focused graphene sensor development aligned with this major societal challenge, with readiness to be interfaced with leading industry-led technology.