Determination of Arsenic Content in Water Using a Silver Coordination Polymer

In this report, wedescribe a practical method for the colorimetricdetermination of dissolved inorganic arsenic content in water samples,using a silver coordination polymer as the sensing material. We demonstratethat a crystalline polymer framework can be used to stabilize silver-(I)ions, greatly reducing both photosensitivity and water solubility,while still affording sufficient reactivity to detect arsenic in watersamples at low parts-per-billion (ppb) levels. Test strips fabricatedwith the silver-based polymer are shown to be effective for fieldtests of groundwater under real-world operating conditions and displayperformance that is competitive with commercially available mercury-basedtest strips. Spectroscopic methods are also used to probe the reactionproducts formed, in order to better understand the sensing mechanism.Thus, our work provides the foundation for an improved field testthat could be deployed to help manage groundwater usage in regionswhere arsenic contamination is problematic but sophisticated lab testingis not readily available.