Development of a novel setup for direct colorimetric visualization of elemental mercury vapor adsorption on colloidal gold nanoparticles

Mercury is a toxic, persistent, and bio-accumulative pollutant that has adverse effects on environmental and human health. Various studies have been conducted to monitor different forms of mercury. The objective of this study was to develop a novel setup for assessing gas phase elemental mercury vapor adsorption using colloidal gold nanoparticles solutions that display a characteristic surface plasmon resonance absorption peak in the visible spectrum.