3D Printed Ion-Selective Electrodes Enriched with ZnO Nanoparticles for Potassium Detection

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry

Background:

• Ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) are crucial for ion determination due to their simplicity and cost-effectiveness.
• Advances in materials science and digital fabrication enable novel manufacturing approaches for ISEs.
• Redesigning ISEs with modern techniques offers opportunities for improved performance and accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the application of 3D printing for fabricating potassium-selective electrodes.
• To develop a simplified membrane composition for 3D printed ISEs.
• To investigate the effect of ZnO nanoparticles on electrode performance.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of potassium-selective electrodes using 3D printing with a mixture of potassium tetraphenylborate, silver sulfide or graphite, and ABS polymer.
• Testing membranes with and without ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) incorporation.
• Evaluating electrode performance, including slope, response time, limit of detection, and selectivity.

Main Results:

• Incorporation of ZnO NPs significantly improved the electrode slope.
• Graphite-based membranes demonstrated faster response times (3-7 s stabilization).
• Optimized 3D printed membranes with 0.6% ZnO NPs exhibited near-Nernstian behavior, a low limit of detection (2.06 × 10^-5 mol L^-1), and high selectivity.

Conclusions:

• 3D printing offers a versatile platform for creating rapid, reproducible, and high-performance potassium ISEs.
• Simplified membrane compositions combined with nanoparticle incorporation enhance electrode functionality.
• This approach facilitates the development of advanced analytical tools for ion sensing.