26th Annual Student Research Conference
Determination of Chromium(VI) Using Sol-Gel Encapsulation and Colorimetry
Ryan R. Wissmann* and Matthew T. Shafis
Dr. David McCurdy, Faculty Mentor
Chromium exists in nature primarily in two different states. Chromium(III) which has low environmental impact, and chromium(VI) which is both toxic and carcinogenic, even in part-per-billion (ppb) levels. As such, the capability to selectively measure chromium(VI) in the presence of other forms of chromium is important. Current methods are prohibitively expensive and complicated or lack the sensitivity to measure ppb chromium(VI). Our new approach seeks to create a novel method to determine chromium(VI) in the presence of other forms of chromium. It uses a sensitive colorimetric reaction scheme, partially encapsulated in a sol-gel monolith, to reduce the method detection limit lower than possible with the reaction scheme alone. The goal is a simple, inexpensive, and sub-ppb level measurement. This talk will present the progress of our current work which has demonstrated quantitative calibration behavior and improved detection limits when compared to the analytical performance of the reaction scheme without encapsulation.
Keywords: chromium, spectrophotometry, environmental, colorimetric, sol-gel, analysis, determination
Topic(s):Chemistry
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 209-1
Location: MG 2090
Time: 9:30