Design and Fabrication of Flexible Paper-Based, Electrochemical Sensors to Detect the Presence of Heavy Metals in Ground Water

Abstract

The history of mining and mineral extraction across the Navajo Nation has resulted in considerable contamination of the land and the groundwater resources, which is a significant environmental concern. Through a partnership between Navajo Technical University and Harvard University, we have designed and fabricated flexible, paper-based sensors in tandem with electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry, and anodic stripping voltammetry to determine heavy metal concentrations in test samples. We have selected to fabricate paper-based electrochemical sensors because; they are low-cost, easy to make, environmentally friendly, and can be deployed for field testing across the Navajo Nation. We have demonstrated that our electrodes have successfully oxidized lead and arsenic oxide using the techniques stated above. The performance of our electrode is comparable to commercially available electrochemical sensors. Furthermore, the linear electrochemical response and sensitivity of our electrodes, for detecting heavy metals, makes them well suited for real-time sensors in field-testing applications.