Dr. Ignacio Pedre 

In the environment there are some metals that need to be monitored. However, not only their total concentration is important: the different chemical forms in which these metals appear are also critical to understand how these elements behave and how they can affect the living beings. For example, it is known that chromium in a highly oxidised form is more toxic than when it is less oxidised. The understanding of the distribution among these chemical forms of an element is called speciation.

One such metal, found in all natural aquatic systems, is manganese (Mn). In this project I propose to develop a simple and economic method for speciating this metal in water samples, which is essential for understanding the ecosystem.

The method will consist of a chromatography, a procedure for the separation of mixtures. The typical example is the separation of the pigments of ink after applying a drop on a porous paper and letting it soak in water. So, my idea is to apply such a separation to a sample and make a reaction that will give a colour where the different Mn species ended up. Afterwards, the colour change will be evaluated with a smartphone and will be related to the concentration. This will allow their application in field measurements and represent a cheap alternative to the expensive traditional methods for speciating metals.