Nanoparticles Enhance Spectroscopy For Rapid Pollutant Detection

A university chemistry research team reports a method that uses nanoparticle-enhanced infrared spectroscopy combined with machine learning to detect hazardous water and soil contaminants faster on-site. The technique detects trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other pollutants by amplifying molecular infrared signals on nanoparticles and using algorithms to deconvolve mixtures, cutting analysis time to a few hours. The group filed a patent and is exploring broader environmental deployment.