Determination of Arsenic Content in Water Using a Silver Coordination Polymer

Abstract

In this report, we describe a practical method for the colorimetric determination of dissolved inorganic arsenic content in water samples, using a silver coordination polymer as the sensing material. We demonstrate that a crystalline polymer framework can be used to stabilize silver(I) ions, greatly reducing both photosensitivity and water solubility, while still affording sufficient reactivity to detect arsenic in water samples at low partsper-billion (ppb) levels. Test strips fabricated with the silver-based polymer are shown to be effective for field tests of groundwater under real-world operating conditions and display performance that is competitive with commercially available mercury-based test strips. Spectroscopic methods are also used to probe the reaction products formed, in order to better understand the sensing mechanism. Thus, our work provides the foundation for an improved field test that could be deployed to help manage groundwater usage in regions where arsenic contamination is problematic but sophisticated lab testing is not readily available.

A blue arsenomolybdic acid-crystal violet ion-associate pair paving the way for the field detection of arsenic in groundwater

“…The color development in the present method, on the other hand, is not prone to such uncertainties and, as stated earlier, is highly reproducible. Taking a holistic view, the present method is on par with the Gutzeit method and the method reported by Reich et al 37 and, likewise, does not require much professional training for enactment in rural or field settings. As a matter of fact, the method developed by Reich et al 37 bears a large similarity with the Gutzeit method and thus has some common shortcomings such as the generation of arsine gas and the requirement of high purity Zn.…”

“…Taking a holistic view, the present method is on par with the Gutzeit method and the method reported by Reich et al 37 and, likewise, does not require much professional training for enactment in rural or field settings. As a matter of fact, the method developed by Reich et al 37 bears a large similarity with the Gutzeit method and thus has some common shortcomings such as the generation of arsine gas and the requirement of high purity Zn. The present method has no such shortcomings.…”

“…Notably, the Gutzeit method is not included in the table as it has already been discussed fairly in detail in Section 1. The most important point revealed by the table is that except for the method by Reich et al , 37 no other method was employed for analysing naturally contaminated (As content > 10 μg L −1 ) groundwater. The detection of only As( iii ) by several methods is yet another important differentiating aspect.…”

A review: Analytical methods and health risk assessment for inorganic, organic, and total arsenic content in rice samples

“…Other researchers tried to introduce arsenic determination and quantification methodologies in other matrices, such as drinking water [55] and biological samples, including human urine and whole blood [56]. Moreover, research teams are intere s ted in developing portable, fa s t, cheap, easyto-use field te s ts and sensors using novel technologies [57][58][59][60].…”

A Highly Sensitive Luminescent Upconversion Nanosensor for Turn-On Detection of As3+

“…With the innovation of technology, low-concentration As 3+ detection methods present diversification. Several conventional methods − can offer good selectivity and accuracy, but most of them are limited by multistep sample pretreatment, cumbersome equipment, a complex detection process, and the lack of a well-established setup. Recently, as an alternative to conventional techniques, fluorometric sensors, − e.g., organic dyes (ODs), fluorescent proteins (FPs), and inorganic quantum dots (QDs), have become a core keyword with advantages of faster and reliable quantification techniques.…”