Project Page Views: [ 722 ]
| Project Metadata Element | Details |
| Project Title | The Protection of Water Resources: New Materials for the Sensing of Nitrates and Heavy Metals and for the Removal of Organic Contaminants |
| Research Area | Water |
| Project Acronym | |
| Principal Investigator or Lead Irish Partner | Bernadette Alcock-Earley |
| Lead Institution or Organisation | Maynooth University (NUIM) |
| Lead Country | Ireland |
| Latitude, Longitude (of Lead Institution) | 53.38302, -6.60025 |
| Lead Funding Entity | Environmental Protection Agency |
| Approximate Project Start Date | 01/04/2008 |
| Approximate Project Finishing Date | 01/04/2013 |
| Project Website (if any) | |
| Links to other Web-based resources | |
| Project Keywords | Water resources; Nitrates; Heavy metals; Organic contaminants removal |
| Project Abstract | The three projects are concerned with the formation of new materials that can be used in environmental sensing applications and/or have the potential to remove the pollutant, i.e. environmental remediation. These novel materials consist of modified conducting polymer films. Conducting polymers have attracted much interest because of their electronic, electrochemical and optical properties. These polymers will be used in all three projects and will serve as a platform technology. The polymers will be modified with either metallic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes or macrocyclic cages so that the materials are capable of sensing and/or remediation of nitrates, heavy metals and organic contaminants. These modifications are carefully selected to ensure that the final materials will have the required sensing or remediation capacity. Initially, polypyrrole films will be used, as polypyrrole is one of the most important conducting polymers because of its facile preparation and good stability. Other conducting polymers such as polyaniline and PEDOT will also be employed at a later stage to investigate the role that the polymer matrix has on each system and to determine the best performing polymer matrix. |