| Title: | A Nanoengineered Conductometric Device for Accurate Analysis of Elemental Mercury Vapor |
| Author(s): | Griffin MJ; Kabir KM; Coyle VE; Kandjani AE; Sabri YM; Ippolito SJ; Bhargava SK; |
| Address: | "Centre for Advanced materials & Industrial chemistry (CAMIC), School of Applied Sciences, RMIT University , Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia. School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, RMIT University , Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1520-5851 (Electronic) 0013-936X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "We developed a novel conductometric device with nanostructured gold (Au) sensitive layer which showed high-performance for elemental mercury (Hg(0)) vapor detection under simulated conditions that resemble harsh industrial environments. That is, the Hg(0) vapor sensing performance of the developed sensor was investigated under different operating temperatures (30-130 degrees C) and working conditions (i.e., humid) as well as in the presence of various interfering gas species, including ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), nitric oxide (NO), carbon mono-oxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen (H2), methane (CH4), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as ethylmercaptan (EM), acetaldehyde (MeCHO) and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) among others. The results indicate that the introduction of Au nanostructures (referred to as nanospikes) on the sensor's surface enhanced the sensitivity toward Hg(0) vapor by up-to 450%. The newly developed sensor exhibited a limit of detection (LoD) ( approximately 35 mug/m(3)), repeatability ( approximately 94%), desorption efficiency (100%) and selectivity ( approximately 93%) when exposed to different concentrations of Hg(0) vapor (0.5 to 9.1 mg/m(3)) and interfering gas species at a chosen operating temperature of 105 degrees C. Furthermore, the sensor was also found to show 91% average selectivity when exposed toward harsher industrial gases such as NO, CO, CO2, and SO2 along with same concentrations of Hg(0) vapor in similar operating conditions. In fact, this is the first time a conductometric sensor is shown to have high selectivity toward Hg(0) vapor even in the presence of H2S. Overall results indicate that the developed sensor has immense potential to be used as accurate online Hg(0) vapor monitoring technology within industrial processes" |
| Keywords: | Ammonia Carbon Dioxide Gases/*chemistry Gold/chemistry Hydrogen Sulfide Limit of Detection Mercury/*chemistry Nanotechnology/*instrumentation Sulfur Dioxide Volatile Organic Compounds/*chemistry; |
| Notes: | "MedlineGriffin, Matthew J Kabir, K M Mohibul Coyle, Victoria E Kandjani, Ahmad Esmaielzadeh Sabri, Ylias M Ippolito, Samuel J Bhargava, Suresh K eng 2015/12/20 Environ Sci Technol. 2016 Feb 2; 50(3):1384-92. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.5b05700. Epub 2015 Dec 30" |
