Quantum dots assisted photocatalysis for the chemiluminometric determination of chemical oxygen demand using a single interface flow system

A novel flow method for the determination of chemical oxygen demand (COD) is proposed in this work. It relies on the combination of a fully automated single interface flow system, an on-line UV photocatalytic unit and quantum dot (QD) nanotechnology. The developed approach takes advantage of CdTe nanocrystals capacity to generate strong oxidizing species upon irradiation with UV light, which fostered a fast catalytic degradation of the organic compounds. Luminol was used as a chemiluminescence (CL) probe for indirect COD assessment, since it is easily oxidized by the QD generated species yielding a strong CL emission that is quenched in the presence of the organic matter. The proposed methodology allowed the determination of COD concentrations between 1 and 35 mg L−1, with good precision (R.S.D. < 1.1%, n = 3) and a sampling frequency of about 33 h−1. The procedure was applied to the determination of COD in wastewater certified reference materials and the obtained results showed an excellent agreement with the certified values.

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► A novel flow method for the determination of chemical oxygen demand is proposed.
► CdTe nanocrystals are irradiated with UV light to generate strong oxidizing species.
► Reactive species promote a fast catalytic degradation of organic matter.
► Luminol is used as a chemiluminescence probe for indirect COD assessment.
► A single interface flow system was implemented to automate the assays.