CeNS developed portable sensor to detect heavy metal ions in water

Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) has developed a compact solid-state sensor to detect the heavy metal ions in water. It is a portable device which can help onsite detection in remote areas.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2020

Key-Points

Heavy metal ions like mercury, lead, and cadmium show severe potential threats to living beings. These metal ions can easily be accumulated in the human body.

It cannot be detoxified by any chemical or biological processes. The health hazards associated with heavy metal ions in water demands the development of efficient and portable sensors for rapid onsite detection of these ions.

This need led to the development of visual sensors, which can effectively detect heavy metal ions rapidly (within seconds) under ambient conditions.

Compact solid-state sensor is a portable device as the quantum dots can be excited with handheld UV light of 254 nm. It can help onsite detection in remote areas.

The sensor can detect the heavy metal ions, for example, lead ions (Pb2+) down to 0.4 parts per billion (ppb) for efficient onsite detection.