Determination of heavy metals contamination using a silicon sensor with extended responsive to the UV

Due to its potential risk to human health and ecology, the presence of heavy metals in water demands of techniques to determine them in a simple and economical way. Currently, new developments of light emitters and detectors open a window of opportunities to use optical properties to analyze contaminated water. In this paper, a silicon sensor developed to extend its sensitivity up to the UV range is used to determine heavy metals in water. Cadmium, Zinc, Lead, Copper and Manganese mixed in pure water at different concentrations were used as test samples. The photocurrent obtained by the light that passes through the samples was used to determine the optical transmittance of pure and contaminated water. Preliminary results show a good separability between samples, which can be used for qualitative and quantitative detection of such heavy metals in water.