Sensing of contaminants in potable water using TiO2 functional film

Abstract

The piezoelectric based quartz crystal microbalance is employed for sensing contaminants in potable water. A spin coated thin layer of TiO2 nanoparticles was formed at the sensing area of a 5 MHz AT-cut quartz wafer. The thin film of TiO2 nanoparticles forms a mesoporous functional layer for the trapping of water borne contaminants. The morphology of the thin film of TiO2 nanoparticles was studied using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The surface morphology of the TiO2 nanoparticles reveals the mesoporous structures indicating large number of defects and porous sites. Such film was employed for the detection of water borne contaminants by detecting the piezoelectric response from a quartz crystal microbalance. We found the film to be very sensitive to the contaminants. The minimum detection limit was found to be 330 ppb. The effect of surface recharging was also studied by altering the physical conditions so that the film can be used for repetitive usage.