Friday, February 11, 2011

Scientists discover new method to detect air pollution

Researchers at Kyoto University have successfully completed a study where they used a newly formulated entangled framework of porous crystals (porous coordination polymers, or PCPs) to capture air pollutants.

The mixtures start glowing in a variety of different colors when exposed to ultraviolet light and are visible to the naked eye.

The CPC reacts with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, xylene, anisole and iodobenzene.

According to the Jan. 26 article in Science Daily, this breakthrough could lead to the development of new mobile, solid-state pollution detectors. So far, chemical sensors have to be custom-designed to detect certain compounds, and another mechanism is needed to prove that VOCs have been captured.

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