3D Printed Metal Scavengers for Mercury Detection in Fresh Water

Mercury is a heavy metal that is highly toxic to humans and other living organisms. Its accumulative and persistent nature in the environment is a topic of great concern. In fresh water, Hg is found at trace levels from picogram to nanogram concentrations which makes its accurate quantification or detection very challenging. In fact, in order to reach the detection limits of analytical methods, a preconcentration step is most of the time required.

This study aimed at combining scavengers with new 3D printing technology to fabricate filter matrices. A selective laser sintering 3D printer was used to build the scavenger filter, using a mixture of polyamide-12 powder with SiliaMetS Thiol (5 % w/w). The purpose of the 3D-Thiol scavenger was for Hg preconcentration of water samples prior to being analyzed with ICP-MS. The captured Hg was quantitatively eluted from the 3D-Thiol filter, with a mixture of 0.3 % (w/v) thiourea and 8 % (v/v) HCl solution. Using this process allowed the sample to be preconcentrated by a factor of 92.8 and thus enabled an extremely low detection limit of 0.037 ng/L. Ultra-trace levels of Hg at pg/L concentrations in water samples was shown to be quantified by the method developed.

The article demonstrates an effective method for the catch and release of Hg with SiliaMetS Thiol to achieve a preconcentration step prior to its analysis. Furthermore, the 3D-Thiol scavenger was shown to be effective even after being reused at least 10 times with no decrease in its extraction efficiency. These results could lead to a promising new avenue for the detection of heavy metals in surface water.

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