Development of hard water sensor using Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based sensor utilizing laser dyes and nanoclay to detect water hardness by measuring calcium and magnesium concentrations.

Contribution

It presents a new FRET-based sensing method enhanced with nanoclay for accurate detection of water hardness components.

Findings

FRET efficiency changes with calcium and magnesium levels.

Nanodimensional clay improves sensor sensitivity.

Effective detection of hard water components achieved.

Abstract

A method is presented for the sensing of water hardness by determining the concentration of calcium and magnesium in water, based on Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) process. The principle of the proposed sensor is based on the change of FRET efficiency between two laser dyes Acriflavine (Acf) and Rhodamine B (RhB) in presence of permanent hard water components (CaCl2 and MgCl2). Nanodimensional clay platelet laponite was used to enhance the efficiency of the sensor.