Polynorbornene-based Chemosensors for Selective and Sensitive Detection of Toxic Metal Ions from Water

Anagha, E (2025) Polynorbornene-based Chemosensors for Selective and Sensitive Detection of Toxic Metal Ions from Water. Masters thesis, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata.

Text (MS Dissertation of Anagha E (20MS218)) 20MS218_Thesis_file.pdf - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (4MB)

Abstract

The research involved in this thesis intended to develop simple, cost-effective chemosensors that enable detection of heavy metal ions like copper (II) and arsenic (III) with high precision and specificity. The sensors were so designed that they can be easily modified into versatile real-life application materials like paper-strips, films, lithography chips etc. for monitoring environmental and biological specimens. We utilized xanthene dyes like rhodamine-b and fluorescein for our synthesis due to their well established, instantaneous colorimetric and/or fluorometric responses to heavy metal ions. We employed ROMP method to synthesise the homopolymers of our norbornene-based small molecule probes to achieve our goals. Chapter 1 includes a detailed description of the various sources and effects of heavy metal mediated water pollution. The applications of heavy metals and metalloids in major industries and biological systems have been briefly discussed along with the details of their toxic effects in human beings. This chapter also includes few literature reports of small molecule-based chemosensors for copper (II) and arsenic (III) ions sensing. Additionally, advantages of polymeric probes and ROMP strategy have also been mentioned. Chapter 2 targets the monitoring of copper (II) ions from environmental and biological samples using colorimetric sensors NRh and PNRh, derived from rhodamine b. The reported monomer NRh showed an instantaneous colour change from colourless to pink only when divalent copper ions were present in the solution. The detailed UV-Vis spectroscopic studies also revealed that NRh and PNRh has a LOD in the nM range making them ideal for real-life applications. PNRh also provides the possibility of developing paper-strip based sensors for point-of-care diagnostics.

Actions (login required)

View Item