Methylammonium Bromide in Isopropanol Alcohol with an acid, first created in 2018 by a group of Dutch Scientists, their original work can be seen in This Paper.
They actually went on to create the worlds first Glowing Lead Test!
Which I cant, Ironically post for err- reasons...
Lukas Helmbrecht and his professor Willem L. Noorduin, both aspiring entrepreneurs hijacked their own group project out of AMOLF, a Research Facility in the Netherlands.
The paper titled "Shape-preserving transformation of carbonate minerals into lead halide perovskite semiconductors based on ion exchange/insertion reactions" Details a method of converting ordinary lead carbonate into the glowing form.
Lead Detection Innovation: Transforming Calcium Carbonate into Lead Carbonate
One of my favorite photos shows the start of an incredible journey in lead detection. But they didn't even start there! They first transformed calcium carbonate structures, both macroscopic and microscopic, into lead carbonate.
Glowing Lead Carbonate: A Breakthrough in Lead Detection
Second, they transformed that lead carbonate into a form that glows. Typically, they would have carried out this reaction in an oven under argon, creating a vaporized form of methylammonium bromide, which would react with the sample over time. To speed up the reaction, they found that they could just mix a clever, novel combination of methylammonium bromide and isopropanol (also known as rubbing alcohol) along with a little bit of hydrogen chloride (hydrochloric acid).
Chemistry Behind Lead Carbonate Transformation
While the acid is optional, they postulated in their paper that the inclusion of the acid would make the carbonate "a good leaving group." Since an acid would donate hydrogen to the lead carbonate (PbCO3), it would free up the lead. The interaction between the HCl acid and the lead carbonate can be visualized as:
PbCO3 + 2HCl → PbCl2 + H2O + CO2
Which then spontaneously reacts with methylammonium bromide to form:
CH3NH3Br + PbCl2 → CH3NH3PbBr3 + CH3NH3PbCl3
This reaction is a very sensitive test for lead. How do I know this? Beyond my own research, Lukas and Wim have done it again—writing several other papers at AMOLF detailing the high sensitivity and chemical sensitivity of the methylammonium bromide lead detection method.
Real-World Application of Glowing Lead Detection
This reaction wound up being clean enough to transform tiny microstructures from normal lead carbonate into glowing lead—with the help of a UV light source, of course. What made this innovation so important to the field of lead detection is that, in theory, it would work as well or even better on basic lead carbonate, or white lead. Since the basic moiety of the molecule would easily react with the acid component disclosed in their original work (which I won’t be posting any images from for obvious reasons).
Understanding Lead Paint and Detection Kinetics
Lead paint is a combination of basic and regular lead carbonate. The formula of basic lead carbonate is 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2, and acids react with bases to neutralize them. The reaction kinetics of this would be:
2PbCO3⋅Pb(OH)2 + 6HCl → 3PbCl2 + 2CO2 + 4H2O
While on paper this seems obvious, it took them a few years to try it in the real world. Once they did, things lit up! They were so excited they spent the next two years applying for competitions in the Netherlands, starting a company, and filing for patent protection—ostensibly so they alone could produce this lead testing fluid.
The Journey to Improve Lead Detection
Pretty cool, right? I thought so. Since I already make and sell lead testing kits, I figured this was a natural progression for myself as well. Once I found out about this compelling technology, I poured everything I had into learning the ins and outs of lead detection using this method, spending countless (literally) hours trying different formulations, trying to improve what was out of the box, an already very eloquent way to disclose the presence of lead.
The Impact of Lead on Health and Society
Along the way, I may have learned a little too much about what lead does to people, to societies, how we detect it, and what the implications of our current situation are. It began a real shift in my thinking, and I felt a higher calling. Once I deemed their product insufficient to serve the market, I knew it was time to embark on my own glowing lead journey.
Breaking Monopolies in Lead Detection
Lead detection has always been hampered by private monopolies. LeadCheck remained $5 per test for its entire 25-year patent-protected life—it greatly enriched the creator, spawning a venture capital company dedicated to furthering the entrepreneurial spirit. While I am grateful for the opportunity such protracted monopolization has created, my heart breaks for all those who have suffered as a result.
A Call to Action: End Lead Poisoning
But at the end of the day, this is the only thing I can do—prevent another 25 years of sequestered, insular production of tools that can easily prevent life-altering (sometimes life-ending) neurological issues, whose effects manifest in both physical (high blood pressure) and neurological symptoms (aggression, ADHD, and diminished intellectual capacity).
Empowering People to Understand Their Environment
Everyone on earth deserves to understand their environment, themselves, and others in ways that enable each of us to do the right thing by one another. Whether that’s offering people who've done good money for their good work, giving others the benefit of the doubt, or entrusting that people will reciprocate kind, loving acts with care and dignity, principles of love and kindness will never fail to advance the human species.
A Lead-Free Future
I genuinely think that without a lead-poisoned population, we will have a much greater chance to engage in public discourse that leads us to live in the grey area. As a random aside, I think that black-and-white thinking is symptomatic of lead poisoning, since it requires a certain level of reductiveness, common in people with diminished IQ.
Extending Compassion in a Lead-Poisoned World
I know we have all experienced obstinate behavior from others, and I invite everyone to extend their most loving gestures to people who are simply wrapped up in their own worlds, separated from the collective consciousness by a stark indifference to doing the same—maybe it was severe childhood lead poisoning, maybe it’s just about money.
Protect Yourself and Others from Lead
Regardless, thank you for reading, and please consider checking your environment if you may be exposed to lead. You can now avoid it entirely with a simple test.
A Final Word: The Trolley Problem
So be well and mind your choices, because they impact people, and my utilitarian instincts tell me to harm the least amount of people possible. Sometimes, we need to flip that switch to save the family who is already on the tracks.
Shout out to Wikipedia and the Trolley Problem.
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