Advanced Sensing Layer for the Selective Detection of Organic Contaminants in Water

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Effective monitoring and control of water quality are critical for many Canadian industries, including the drinking water, wastewater, agriculture, aquaculture, and coastal industries as well as the public sector. There is an unmet demand for real-time frequent monitoring of water quality in these industries. This project will meet this demand by converting smartphones into water monitoring devices that can detect pollutants in water. This is of particular importance to both the public and several key industries in Canada.The objective of the proposed international collaboration is to develop sensing materials that will be incorporated in a cost-effective sensor for monitoring water quality. The sensor will be a small optoelectronic device that can easily be installed on a smartphone much like a cellphone add-on lens. It will contain an array of sensing nodes comprising a sensing material, each sensitive and selective to a specific chemical contaminant. Upon contact of the sensing layer with the water, various image signals from the sensing material will be created, which will be recognized by software, indicating the presence and quantity of chemical contaminants. The expected outcome of the proposed international collaboration is to advance the sensing material that is used in the sensor to greatly enhance the sensor accuracy/selectivity and to expand its application to monitoring water of various qualities. Our collaborator, Prof. Badyal, is internationally recognized for his pioneering research on the functionalization of solid surfaces and the deposition of functional nanolayers. Dr. Badyal has invented a wide range of novel surfaces for technological and societal applications. This project will train a HQP, who, through this collaboration, will learn from leading scientists. We aim for a highly interdisciplinary training environment for our HQP, as they work in both the UBC engineering labs in Canada and Durham science labs in the UK.