Disposable Planar Reference Electrode Based on Carbon Nanotubes and Polyacrylate Membrane

Abstract

In this technical note, we report a new all-solid-state planar reference electrode based on single-walled carbon nanotubes and photocured poly(n-butylacrylate) (poly(nBA)) membrane containing the Ag/AgCl/Cl(-) ion system. Single-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized with octadecylamide (SWCNT-ODA) and deposited by drop-casting onto a disposable screen-printed electrode are an excellent all-solid-state transducer. The novel potentiometric planar reference electrode shows low potential variability (calibration slopes inferior to 2 mV/dec) for a wide range of chemical species (i.e., ions, small molecules, proteins) in a wide calibration range, redox pairs, changes in pH, and changes in ambient light. Potentiometric medium-term signal stability (-0.9 ± 0.2 mV/h) and electrochemical impedance characterization confirm the correct solid contact between the SWCNT-ODA layer and photocured poly(nBA) membrane. Overall, the materials used and the simple fabrication by screen-printing and drop-casting enable a high throughput and highly parallel and cost-effective mass manufacture of the new disposable reference electrode. Moreover, the reference electrode has a long shelf life, a characteristic that can be of special interest in decentralized and multiplexing potentiometric analysis.