Fully-Polymeric pH Sensor Realized by Means of a Single-Step Soft Embossing Technique

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Accurate pH monitoring is crucial across diverse scientific and industrial fields.
• Existing pH sensors often face limitations in terms of size, material compatibility, or fabrication complexity.
• Development of miniaturized, all-polymeric electrochemical systems offers a promising alternative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize an all-polymeric electrochemical sensor microsystem for pH monitoring.
• To investigate the fabrication process using a single-step embossing technique.
• To evaluate the pH sensing performance based on polyaniline's redox properties.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of an all-polymeric microsystem using cyclic olefin copolymer, PEDOT, and polyaniline.
• Patterning of microfluidic channels and conductive elements via a single soft PDMS mold embossing step.
• Surface modification of electrodes through voltammetric electropolymerization of polyaniline for pH-sensitive layer formation.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of a fully polymeric electrochemical sensor microsystem.
• Demonstration of functional enhancement of electrodes after ethylene glycol treatment.
• Validation of pH sensing capability through potentiometric response measurements across a relevant pH range.

Conclusions:

• The developed microsystem provides a novel, all-polymeric platform for electrochemical pH sensing.
• The single-step embossing fabrication method is efficient for creating integrated microfluidic and conductive elements.
• The polyaniline-based sensor exhibits reliable potentiometric response for pH monitoring.