Copper is an essential element in the environment and the human body because it helps the body make red blood cells and keeps nerve cells and the immune system healthy. It also helps form collagen, which is a key part of bones and connective tissue. Thus, copper deficiency causes haematological and neurological disorders. But, redundancy in copper consumption will potentially lead to acute toxicity and various neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s diseases as well as inflammatory disorders in humans. In this regards, the World Health Organization (WHO) has set the safe limit of Cu(II) concentration in drinking water to be 1.3 ppm (~20 μM). Therefore, for the concern of public health, it is of the urgent demand for developing highly sensitive, selective, and economical Cu(II) determination and removal in environmental areas. The dual-functional for on-site detection and adsorption of Cu(II) ions device was beneficiary for the various level of the consumer with simple, economical and environmentally friendly approaches. We strongly believed in the idea of fabricating the CA/CdS-graphene nanocomposite onto the 3DE could manifest a positive and significant outcome for the user. The proposed water filtration system not only able to remove the heavy metal but also enable the monitoring of the number of heavy metal ions consumed in our drinking water.

Superfluous Cu(II) ions in drinking water or other environmental sources can have detrimental effects on human health and the ecosystem. Therefore, for the concern of public health, it is of the urgent demand for developing highly sensitive, selective, and economical Cu(II) determination and removal in environmental areas.  In this study, the fabrication a multi-functional hybrid of cellulose acetate with cadmium sulphide and graphene (CA/CdS-graphene) nanocomposite onto the three-dimensional electrode (3DE) could manifest a positive and significant outcome to the public. The nanocomposite of CA not only serves as the bioadsorbent materials but also acts as a photosensor electrode for detecting a trace amount of Cu(II) ions in real samples. It is noteworthy that, this is the first time ever, a proof-of-concept is reported involving the application of CA/CdS-graphene onto a 3DE for a practical photosensor-bioadsorbent platform in a water filtration system. In addition, the graphene product used in this prototype has bagged the top Researcher Entrepreneur Award at International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference Malaysia (IGEM 2018) organized by Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC)  with the product named of “Versatile Graphene”. Herein, the modified 3DE can provide a low-cost and environmental friendly approach to the fabrication of electronic devices without involving expensive metallic current collectors such as indium doped tin oxide (ITO) and fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates. Therefore, it will remarkably reduce the overall manufacturing cost and time. In addition, the introduction of the 3D printing technique with a conductive filament in device fabrication could provide an infinite number of architectures and sizes, without additional modification. Hence, the findings of this innovation in utilizing 3D printing in device fabrication can be a building block for the next generation of energy architecture.

Advantages:

1. The beneficiary for the various level of the consumer with simple, economical and environmentally friendly approaches.
2. The filtration and determination of the Cu(II) ions in drinking water can be conducted by using only 1 water filtration system device.

• The findings of this innovation in utilizing 3D printing in device fabrication can be a building block for the next generation of energy architecture.

1. The price for our water filtration system is much cheaper than the established brand such as Coway and Cuckoo, where it facing a drawback of only can filter off the heavy metal without monitoring the amount of heavy metal in drinking water consumed every day.

Researcher

AssocProf. Dr. Janet Lim Hong Ngee

Institute of Advanced Technology

Universiti Putra Malaysia

Email: hongngee@upm.edu.my

Date of Input: 29/07/2019 | Updated: 29/07/2019 | asrizam