Impact of gate electrode on free chlorine sensing performance in solution-gated graphene field-effect transistors

Free chlorine is widely used to disinfect water used for drinking and food processing. This requires highly sensitive, simple, and capable continuous-measurement sensors to enable the concentration of free chlorine in water to be monitored and controlled. Free chlorine sensors based on solution-gated graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) are a suitable platform for highly sensitive and continuous measurements. However, their sensing mechanisms require further elucidation to improve their performance. In this study, we focused on the gate electrode and investigated its influence on the sensing performance. Using the free chlorine sensor based on the solution-gate GFET, we showed that the Dirac point voltage in the transfer curve changed significantly as the free chlorine concentration changed, and the electric double-layer capacitance of the gate electrode decreased. Furthermore, we demonstrated that a solution-gated GFET using graphene or boron-doped diamond as the gate electrode could be used to detect changes in the free chlorine concentration in the concentration range of tap water. The sensing performance in the low concentration range benefits from the wide potential window of carbon-based electrodes, which do not have electrochemically active sites. Using these carbon-based materials as gate electrodes, GFETs have the potential to be used as durable sensors that are resistant to surface fouling and oxidation.