High-Throughput Nanoparticle Chemisorption Printing of Chemical Sensors with High-Wiring-Density Electrodes

Jun’Ya Tsutsumi

doi:10.3390/electronicmat2020007

Abstract

We report on the high-throughput non-lithographic microprinting of a high-wiring-density interdigitated array electrode (line and space = 5 µm/5 µm), based on a facile wet/dewet patterning of silver nanoparticle ink. The trade-off between high-density wiring and pattern collapse in the wet/dewet patterning is overcome by employing a new herringbone design of interdigitated array electrode. We demonstrate electrochemical sensing of p-benzoquinone by the fabricated interdigitated array electrode, showing a typical steady-state I–V characteristics with superior signal amplification benefiting from the redox cycling effect. Our findings provide a new technical solution for the scalable manufacture of advanced chemical sensors, with an economy of scale that cannot be realized by other techniques.

Highlights

Chemical sensors that convert a chemical or physical property of a specific analyte into a measurable signal are widely used for gas sensing, biosensing, ion sensing, and so on [1,2,3,4,5]
We demonstrate the high-sensitivity electrochemical sensing of p-benzoquinone, whose derivatives are environmental pollutants toxic to human health [17], by the fabricated interdigitated array electrode, showing typical steady-state I–V characteristics with a signal amplification factor of approximately 6 benefiting from the redox cycling effect
As indicated in the figure, scuffed traces were observed at the right edge of the interdigitated array electrodes, due to pinning of the ink by the right edge line, perpendicular to the blade-sweep axis

Summary

Introduction

Chemical sensors that convert a chemical or physical property of a specific analyte into a measurable signal are widely used for gas sensing, biosensing, ion sensing, and so on [1,2,3,4,5]. Microelectronics plays a key role in the miniaturization and sensitivity improvement of chemical sensors It facilitates the miniaturization necessary for in vivo sensing of biochemical responses in tissues and intact organisms [9,10,11]. Miniaturized electrodes, such as interdigitated array electrodes with dimensions in micrometers, possess convergent analyte diffusion with enhanced mass transport that leads to significant amplification of the sensing signal during amperometric analysis [12,13]. Owing to the narrow gap between the interdigitated array electrodes, a redox species that is oxidized (or reduced) at one electrode can diffuse and be reduced (or oxidized) at the adjacent electrode, which allows multiple oxidative/reductive conversions of the same molecule, resulting in a strong signal amplification, named as the “redox cycling effect”

Methods

Results

Conclusion