Development of Reusable Colorimetric Sensors for the Assessment of Sea Water Quality

开发用于评估海水质量的可重复使用的比色传感器

• 批准号: 2509634
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Manchester
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2509634
• 关键词: Development; Reusable; Colorimetric; Sensors; Assessment

Detecting water quality in our oceans has attracted much recent interest. Sensing the multitude of bacteria, chemicals and plastics, increasingly found polluting sea water, is important to both marine and human life. One of the main problems with ocean pollution is that it is mostly invisible. The development of reusable colorimetric indicators to sense types of water pollution, has multiple end uses. This would act as a health and safety tool. The sensor may highlight the detrimental impact of water pollution. A set of sensors would demonstrate how widespread various forms of marine pollution are globally, not just in the UK where some forms of ocean water testing are a legal requirement. The expected end use would be to attach the sensors to a wetsuit, monitoring the quality of the water. The sensor could be affiliated with organisations such as Surfers Against Sewage, linking with their 'Safer Seas Service' (Surfers Against Sewage, 2019) or utilised by sustainable surfing brands. 'Coastal areas and communities are some of the most vulnerable regions worldwide' (Scott & Rogers, 2018). Studying water quality in the Gulf of Maine, they found that surfers are an important stakeholder in ocean water quality. Their research found that 96% of the surfers included in the study were interested in the water quality at their local surf spot. This paper highlights the requirement for an improved method of communicating the dangers of poor water quality to surfers. Scott and Rogers (2017) also suggest that utilising the surfer community may be the best way to raise awareness of ocean pollution. Milindanuth and Pisitsak demonstrated the advantages of a solid-state colorimetric sensor; 'including ease of handling, operational simplicity, and low cost, and provide qualitative and quantitative information without the use of expensive instruments' (Milindanuth & Pisitsak, 2018). Nanofibres are suitable for sensor applications on account of their ability to be highly porous with a large area-to-volume ratio. There are challenges in the production of nanofibres and the potential use of 'toxic organic solvents' (Milindanuth & Pisitsak, 2018). Piriya et al., (2017) identified colorimetric sensors based on their high sensitivity and selective response. Current research based on colorimetry 'is all about the miniaturization of size, cost, in-situ and without any additional instruments', (Piriya, et al., 2017). This highlights the relevance of this research in the current climate. Piriya et al., (2017) also discuss the importance of nanotechnology in current sensor technology. AIMSDevelopment of a reusable strip of colorimetric sensors for the assessment of several ocean water quality indicators;Identification of which water quality indicators are most suitable for the application;Production of novel reusable water quality sensor technologies based on nanofibers and hydrogels;Creation of reusable prototype strips of water quality sensors that change colour with exposure to a range of pollutants;Comparison of the performance of the novel colorimetric sensors with conventional methods.METHODOLOGYIdentify and classify current water quality testing methods. Investigate and identify the most common types of ocean water pollution to be detected. Apply reported colorimetric sensors for the detection of relevant pollutants.Identify the most appropriate substrate, colorants and testing environments. Prepare Simulated Sea Water (SSW) for repeatability testing.Measure the colorimetric response to pollutants and the sensitivity of nanofibre- and hydrogel- based sensors.Compare the response of the novel sensors to traditional methods of water quality assessment.The project is related to the following EPSRC themes; Engineering, Physical Sciences, Global Uncertainties and Manufacturing the Future. In particular the research areas of Sensors and Instrumentation and Water Engineering.

探测海洋中的水质最近引起了人们的极大兴趣。监测到越来越多的细菌、化学品和塑料污染海水，对海洋生物和人类生活都很重要。海洋污染的主要问题之一是，它基本上是看不见的。开发可重复使用的比色指示器来检测水污染类型，具有多种最终用途。这将作为一种健康和安全工具。该传感器可能会突出水污染的有害影响。一套传感器将展示各种形式的海洋污染在全球范围内有多普遍，而不仅仅是在英国，在英国，某些形式的海水测试是法律要求的。预计的最终用途是将传感器连接到潜水衣上，监测水质。该传感器可以隶属于冲浪者反对污水等组织，与他们的“更安全的海洋服务”(Surfers Against Sewage，2019)联系在一起，也可以由可持续冲浪品牌使用。“沿海地区和社区是世界上最脆弱的区域之一”(Scott&Rogers，2018)。他们研究了缅因湾的水质，发现冲浪者是海洋水质的重要利益相关者。他们的研究发现，研究中96%的冲浪者对当地冲浪点的水质感兴趣。这篇文章强调了需要一种改进的方法来向冲浪者传达劣质水质的危险。Scott和Rogers(2017)还提出，利用冲浪者社区可能是提高人们对海洋污染的认识的最好方式。Milindanuth和Pisitsak展示了固态比色传感器的优势：“包括易于操作、操作简单和低成本，并且无需使用昂贵的仪器即可提供定性和定量信息”(Milindanuth&Pisitsak，2018)。纳米纤维因其具有高渗透性和大的面积体积比而适合用于传感器应用。纳米纤维的生产和“有毒有机溶剂”的潜在使用存在挑战(Milindanuth&Pisitsak，2018)。Piya等人(2017)根据其高灵敏度和选择性响应确定了比色传感器。目前基于比色法的研究“完全是关于尺寸、成本、现场和不需要任何额外仪器的小型化”(Piya等人，2017)。这突显了这项研究在当前气候下的相关性。Piya等人(2017)还讨论了纳米技术在当前传感器技术中的重要性。目的开发可重复使用的比色传感器条，用于评估几种海洋水质指标；确定哪些水质指标最适合应用；生产基于纳米纤维和水凝胶的新的可重复使用的水质传感器技术；创建可重复使用的水质传感器样带，这些传感器会随着暴露于一系列污染物而改变颜色；将新型比色传感器的性能与传统方法进行比较。方法识别和分类当前的水质测试方法。调查和确定要检测的最常见的海水污染类型。应用已报告的比色传感器检测相关污染物。确定最合适的底物、着色剂和测试环境。准备用于重复性测试的模拟海水(SSW)。测量对污染物的比色响应以及基于纳米纤维和水凝胶的传感器的灵敏度。比较新型传感器与传统水质评估方法的响应。该项目涉及以下EPSRC主题：工程、物理科学、全球不确定性和制造未来。特别是传感器与仪器仪表和水工程的研究领域。