ENVR 194 |
| PBT chemicals that do not readily break down in the environment and are not easily metabolized may accumulate in human and ecological food chains through human consumption or uptake and may be hazardous to human health or the environment. Phenol is a high-priority PBT chemical. The presence of harmful organic chemicals such as phenol produced by human activities in our drinking water resources is a serious threat to human and environmental health. There is an urgent need to develop more innovative and effective in situ measurement methods to detect such target toxins of interest in water and, thus, assess their environmental fate and distribution in water bodies and ecosystems. The surface of a sonogel-carbon (SGC) electrode was modified with nanostructured TiO2 to enhance the detection of phenols and 1,2-dihydroxybenzenes. The electrochemical response of the newly developed SGC/TiO2 electrode was compared to that of a bare SGC electrode and an electrochemically modified electrode with conducting poly(3-methylthiophene). The SGC/TiO2 electrode showed the stable detection of phenols and 1,2-dihydroxybenzenes (catecholamines) in the presence of common interferents. The advantages of this SGC/TiO2 electrode include sensitivity, inherent stability and simplicity in addition to the ability of simultaneous determination of target compounds and interferents by cyclic voltammetry. This SGC/TiO2 electrode could be used in several chemical sensor applications of environmental and biological chemicals of interest. |
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Recent Developments in Sensors and Sensor Networks for Contaminants in Environmental Systems
6:00 PM-8:00 PM, Wednesday, August 22, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Poster
Sci-Mix
Division of Environmental Chemistry |