A gold coated polystyrene ring microarray formed by two-step patterning: construction of an advanced microelectrode...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Fabricating microelectrode arrays often requires expensive, high-resolution equipment.
• Developing cost-effective and scalable methods for microelectrode fabrication is crucial for widespread adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, low-cost two-step patterning process for fabricating gold micro-ring electrodes (Au-MRE) and gold-covered polystyrene micro-ring electrodes (Au-PS-MRE).
• To evaluate the electrochemical performance of the fabricated Au-PS-MRE using hexacyanoferrate as a probe.

Main Methods:

• Utilized nanosphere lithography and plasma etching for a two-step patterning process.
• Created PS rings on ITO glass as a mask for selective etching.
• Fabricated Au-MRE and Au-PS-MRE structures via site-selective gold electrodeposition.

Main Results:

• Achieved high sensitivity (163.4-220.7 μA·mM⁻¹·mm⁻²) and low detection limits (2.2 μM) for Au-PS-MRE.
• Demonstrated a 95-132 fold increase in sensitivity compared to conventional gold film macroelectrodes.
• Exhibited steady-state current in cyclic voltammetry with hexacyanoferrate.

Conclusions:

• The developed method offers an effective and low-cost approach for microelectrode array fabrication without high-resolution instruments.
• The technique shows potential for large-scale production of microelectrode arrays.
• The fabricated micro-ring electrodes exhibit excellent electrochemical performance.