Hexavalent chromium is an extremely carcinogenic chemical that has been widely produced in the United States. This has led to major waste contamination and pollution throughout the country. According to the Environmental Working Group Hexavalent chromium has been found in 89% of city tap water. Most people believe they are safe using regular home filter systems however that is not true. A more expensive ion exchange water treatment unit is required. Therefore to protect yourselves from this carcinogenic metal a reliable test is required. In this study we have developed a Zinc Sulfide Manganese doped Quantum Rod technology to detect for presence of chromate and other harmful transitional metals in drinking water. Quantum Rods were synthesized using a hydrothermal reaction method. They were fully characterized using UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence emission spectroscopy, X-ray Photoelectric Spectroscopy (XPS) and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM). Quantum Rod metal detection studies were done with 28 different ions in a 96-well fluorescent plate reader. Results show that highest sensitivity to 8 ions including the toxic ions of chromate and mercury allowing us to create a sensor to detect these items.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-5797 |
| Date | 01 January 2014 |
| Creators | Teblum, Andrew |
| Publisher | STARS |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
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