Portable device instantly analyses airborne hazards

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Airborne hazards such as sulphur dioxide and benzene could be identified instantly and at a safe distance thanks to a portable device developed in Singapore.

The prototype device from a team at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) provides real-time monitoring of air quality and is said to be suitable for rapid deployment by first responders.

A research team led by Associate Professor Ling Xing Yi at NTU’s School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences developed the system, which is been described in ACS Nano.

Current methods of identifying potential airborne hazards use Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), which is reliable but requires sample collection and can take between a few hours and a few days to obtain results, making GC-MS unsuitable for scenarios requiring fast and ongoing analysis of potential air contamination.

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The new device uses a small patch made of a porous and metallic nanomaterial to first trap gas molecules. When a laser is shone on it the light interacts with the gas molecules, causing light of a lower energy to be emitted. When analysed, it gives a spectroscopic readout in graph chart format.

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