Detecting nanoplastics in the air

Small particles of plastic can be found in the soil and water. They can also fly in the air. It's not clear hownanoplastics affect human health, but animal studies suggest they are potentially harmful. Researchers have developed a sensor that can detect particles in the air and determine the amount and type of the plastic.

The results of the research will be presented at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society.

"If they're in the air that you breathe, getting into your lungs and potentially causing health problems, they're a major concern," says Jelinek. A simple, inexpensive detector like ours could have huge implications and alert people to the presence of plastic in the air, allowing them to take action.

Plastic is thrown away every year. The surrounding environment is polluted with small particles of plastic when it's being used or discarded. People can breathe in small particles of plastic that float in the air. According to animal studies, inhaling and ingesting these particles may be harmful. It would be useful to know the levels of pollution in the environment.

Jelinek's research team at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev developed an electronic nose that could be used to monitor the presence ofbacteria. The researchers wanted to see if the same carbon-dot-based technology could be used to create a sensor for continuous environmental monitoring.

Jelinek says that carbon dots are formed when a starting material that contains lots of carbon is heated for several hours. A conventional microwave can be used for this process. Carbon dots are colorful, and often fluorescent, nanometer-size particles that develop during heating. The carbon dots can have different surface properties if they are changed.

The team spread thin layers of carbon dots onto tiny electrodes in order to create the e-nose. Interdigitated electrodes have two sides with the same structure. There is an electric field between the two sides. Jelinek says that when something happens to the carbon dots, there is a change of capacitance.

The researchers chose carbon dots that would remove common types of plastic from the air. Plastic particles were made to float in the air in an experiment. According to Jelinek, the team observed signals that were different for each type of material. The amount of particles from a certain plastic type can be reported by the sensor if it is above or below a threshold. The signal intensity of the sensor was related to the size of the particles.

The team wants to see if their system can distinguish between different types of plastic. Jelinek says it's likely that they could change the sensor to distinguish between different types of plastic. The ability to detect different plastics based on their surface properties would make it possible to track them in schools, offices, homes and outdoors.

More information: Carbon dots for environmental applications, ACS Fall 2022. www.acs.org/content/acs/en/mee … tings/fall-2022.html Citation: Detecting nanoplastics in the air (2022, August 23) retrieved 23 August 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-08-nanoplastics-air.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.