Miniaturized electrochemical sensor for in-line total chloramine detection using nanomaterial electrocatalysts

Overview

This solution is a miniaturized electrochemical in-line sensor engineered to quantitatively and directly detect trace amounts of total chloramines in water. It exploits the unique oxidizing and metal-binding reactivity of chloramines, using electrocatalytic reactions at noble metal nanomaterial electrodes to achieve sensitive and selective detection. The technology is designed to meet the demanding analytical requirements of in-line feed water monitoring, offering a compact, real-time alternative to conventional chloramine measurement methods.

Technical specifications

Detection approach:

• Electrocatalytic reduction of total chlorine and chloramine species at noble metal nanocrystal electrodes, including platinum, palladium, and gold
• Direct electrochemical readout, eliminating the need for reagent-based assays or sample preparation
• Miniaturized sensor format suitable for continuous in-line deployment in water treatment systems

Key performance characteristics demonstrated in prior work:

• Detection limit of 2.0 micromolar for monochloramine
• Detection limit of 0.2 micromolar for dichloramine
• High selectivity arising from the unique adsorption and coordination chemistry of chloramines at catalytic nanomaterial surfaces

Development objectives:

• Identify and optimize the best-performing nanocrystal electrocatalysts for total chloramine detection
• Integrate the optimized nanomaterials into a miniaturized sensor architecture
• Benchmark and validate analytical performance against the requirements for in-line feed water sensing

Technology readiness level

The underlying electrochemical detection principle has been validated in published analytical chemistry research, with demonstrated detection limits for monochloramine and dichloramine. The principal investigator's laboratory has more than 25 years of experience developing real-time and miniaturized electrochemical sensors for chloramine monitoring. Current and planned work focuses on advancing the technology from validated laboratory detection toward a fully miniaturized, in-line sensor benchmarked against industry specifications for feed water monitoring.