DOE is seeking advanced sensors that will provide highlyloca@ sensing of chemical species of materials on line and in realtime. This project's objective is to fabricate and characterizenovel metal ion sensors for the real-time detection and in-situquantification of target metal ions. Specifically, polymers willbe developed that have molecular recognition properties for metalions such as nickel, copper, cadmium @- mercury, chromium, etc. The matrix of the polymers will be imprinted with specific sizecavities by means of templates, which will be the particular metalions of interest. Reversible covalent, ionic, or hydrogen bondsform between the template and the binding sites of the polymerchain. Upon polymerization, the template will produce cavitiesspecific for size, shape, and arrangement of the binding sites. Topreserve the memory effects of the polymer, the template will besplit off without altering the cavity. In Phase I, an all solidstate sensor will be fabricated by applying membranes that containan ion-selective imprinted polymer on the conducting filled epoxylayer of an ion electrode. The r will be tested andcalibrated.Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications as described by the awardee:If imprinted polymers for chemical recognition ofheavy metal ions can be fabricated successfully, they can be usedas highly sensitive, ion selective sensors for the in-situdetermination and quantification of metal ions in materials. Sensors to be developed under the planned innovation researchprogram will be rugged for on-line, continuous monitoring of amanufacturing process. The primary applications of the proposedsensors will be in various process and energy-related industrieswhere continuous feedback is needed to adjust the composition ofthe materials being processed or treated within critical ranges.
