Dr Hong Yin
Heavy metal ions in water have posed severe environmental and health risks due to their high toxicity, high aqueous solubility, and difficulty participating in biological transformations to non-toxic end products. Traditional water-monitoring equipment is heavy, costly, and normally only one or a few elements are detected at any one time. A cheap and multiplexed measurement using a portable device is urgently required to monitor water quality in rural and remote areas. This project will apply surface-functionalised fluorescent nanoparticles, such as quantum dots (QDs) and carbon dots (CDs), in a home-made portable device for detecting multiple heavy metal ions in a semi-quantitative way.
Other applied research in the nanostructures area includes tailored synthesis and surface modification of activated carbon adsorption materials and antimicrobial particles such as zinc oxide, silver, and magnesium hydroxide nanosheets for water purification and biomedical applications.
(a) Semiconductor quantum dot solution with increasing Cu²⁺ concentration under UV light
(b) Linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and Cu²⁺ concentration
(c) Various quantum dots for heavy metal detection
(d) ZnO nanostructures with different morphologies for antimicrobial applications
The project was conducted in conjunction with E-Micromaterial Technology Pty Ltd.
Nanostructures
Functional strontium phosphate-coated magnesium alloys for orthopaedic use
