Use of universal 3D-Printed smartphone spectrophotometer to develop a time-based analysis for hypochlorite

EZEQUIEL VIDAL .; ANABELA S. LORENZETTI; CARLOS D. GARCIA; CLAUDIA E. DOMINI

Clemson

Congreso; 5th Annual Department of Chemistry Research Symposium,; 2021

A fully-functional smartphone-based spectrophotometer was designed and built using3D printing. The major advantage of this approach is its capacity to be interfaced with avariety of smartphones, allowing the use of the smartphone?s camera and display, andregardless of the relative position of the camera. The analytical performance of thedevice was analyzed using a model dye (crystal violet), leading to a proportionalresponse for concentrations in the 0.06?15.0 mg L−1 range, with a variability of 1.0%(intra-day) and 2.6% (inter-day). To demonstrate the functionality of the device, thedegradation process of the dye by sodium hypochlorite was studied. The resultsobtained were applied to develop a paper-based test for NaClO in sanitation solutions,in which the time required to bleach the dye was used to estimate the concentration ofthe solution. This device represents a simple and inexpensive tool for everydaylaboratory use and could address important analytical challenges in low-incomecommunities and features a versatile arrangement, that is compatible with a widevariety of smartphones and software platforms