The public encounters potentially harmful chemicals every day. The culprits can range from household items, indoor air quality, items in work settings or even transportation systems.
Home lead or asbestos test kits are available but not always reliable. But thanks to new research at the University of Florida, the availability of user-friendly, non-mechanical, reusable and affordable indicators may be on the horizon that will expose a wider variety of hazards.
Peng Jiang, Ph.D., a professor in UF’s Department of Chemical Engineering, or ChE, recently received a three-year National Science Foundation research grant that will help develop a new generation of non-mechanical, low-cost, reusable “smart” sensors that will visually detect hazardous chemicals by changing colors.
“If successful, this research could establish an entirely new platform for producing practical, color-changing chemical sensors that are inexpensive, reusable, easy to use and suitable for large-scale production,” Jiang said.
Read more about With an Eye on Color, ChE’s Peng Jiang Seeks Easier Ways To Detect Harmful Chemicals.
