A Low Cost and Rugged Graphene Sensor Network for Characterizing Phosphorus Levels Across Terrestrial-Aquatic Interfaces

Traditional methods for measuring phosphorus in terrestrial and aquatic systems (TAIs) entail manually acquiring samples and performing laboratory tests. An improved approach is therefore needed to enable better collection of chemical data from coastal environments. Ideally, an automated in situ system capable of continuously measuring phosphorus within complex TAI environments would be utilized. Triton Systems will design, build, and test a novel sensor platform for continuous, autonomous, in situ analysis of phosphorus in TAIs. The technology will be based on a novel graphene field effect transistor (GFET) functionalized with molecular receptors for selective phosphorus detection. The sensor components will be part of an integrated, ruggedized system for direct contact with the TAI and prolonged exposure to the environment. Phase I will focus on demonstrating that core sensing components of the proposed GFET platform are a capable of detecting phosphorus in coastal environments. This will be accomplished by designing and fabricating the GFET sensor functionalized with ion-specific receptors, determining the sensitivity and selectivity of GFET to phosphate, and demonstrating that Triton’s sensor can quantitatively measure phosphate in a simulated coastal environment. The technology developed during this program will fill the current capability gap for real-time, in situ chemical sensing platform for analysis of coastal systems. The proposed platform will enable previously inaccessible insight into the coastal ecosystem. The sensor platforms will be deployable over large areas in fully aquatic, fully terrestrial, and TAIs to allow relevant chemical and physical data about the coastal system to be mapped with respect to location, depth, and time. These data will lead to a predictive understanding of complex biological, earth, and environmental systems for energy and infrastructure security, independence, and prosperity.