IIT-Jodhpur researchers create portable arsenic detector in water

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Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur have developed a low-cost, mobile tool to detect arsenic contamination in water sources. 

The innovative sensor offers a fast, reliable, and affordable solution for real-time, onsite water quality monitoring, especially in low-income and remote areas, they claimed.

According to a paper published in Nanotechnology, the new device can detect arsenic at concentrations as low as 0.90 parts per billion (ppb) and delivers results in just 3.2 seconds. 

It eliminates the need for expensive lab equipment and specialised labour, which are typical requirements for traditional arsenic detection techniques like spectroscopy and electrochemical analysis.

For their experiment, the researchers created a sensor on a tiny chip called a high electron mobility transistor. On top of this chip, a very thin layer of tin disulfide (SnS₂) was added to make it react with arsenic in the water.

They then attached metal contacts made from gold, chromium, and aluminum to the sensor, so it could send and receive signals. 

Arsenic contamination poses a major public health risk, causing conditions such as skin cancer and other chronic illnesses. An estimated 43,000 deaths annually are linked to prolonged arsenic exposure, particularly in regions with limited access to safe drinking water.

"We've designed the sensor with usability in mind, ensuring that even people in remote areas can benefit from it," Mahesh Kumar, lead author of the study, told Phys.org. "By connecting the sensor to a circuit board and an Arduino module for real-time data transmission, we've made it perfect for portable and onsite detection." 

The researchers said that their goal is to reduce the number of health issues and fatalities caused by arsenic while making clean drinking water more accessible.