Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
26
Noble Metal Nanosystems for Drinking Water
Puriicatio
n: From Nanoparticles to Clusters
Thalappil Pradeep and Megalamane Siddaramappa Bootharaju
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
CONTENTS
26.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 511
26.2 Sensing/Removal of Pollutants of Water Using NMNs ............................................... 515
26.2.1 Inorganic Metal Ions ............................................................................................. 515
26.2.1.1 Mercury .................................................................................................... 515
26.2.1.2 Lead ........................................................................................................... 517
26.2.1.3 Copper ...................................................................................................... 518
26.2.1.4 Arsenic ...................................................................................................... 519
26.2.2 Inorganic Anions ................................................................................................... 521
26.2.2.1 Cyanide (CN
−
) .......................................................................................... 521
26.2.2.2 Iodide (I
−
) .................................................................................................. 521
26.2.2.3 Thiocyanate (SCN
−
) ................................................................................. 522
26.2.2.4 Sulide (S
2−
) ............................................................................................... 522
26.2.3 Organic Contaminants .......................................................................................... 522
26.2.3.1 Pesticides .................................................................................................. 522
26.2.3.2 Halocarbons ............................................................................................. 524
26.2.3.3 Other Organic Compounds ................................................................... 525
26.2.4 Biological Contamination/Sensing ..................................................................... 526
26.3 Devices and Market ........................................................................................................... 528
26.4 Perspectives ........................................................................................................................ 528
26.5 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 529
Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................... 530
References ..................................................................................................................................... 530
Further Readings ......................................................................................................................... 532
26.1 Introduction
It used to be that the quality of water was assessed on the basis of color, odor, and taste.
Palatability trumped potability. People used surface water from lakes, rivers, and ponds
for drinking, which was not yet harmful as contaminants derived from anthropogenic
sources were not yet potent enough. Owing to the increase in population and pollution
of the environment, the quantity of available surface water decreased with time and most
of it succumbed to severe pollution. In several places, living beings had to depend on
511
