Modified screen-printed electrode using graphene ink for electrochemical sensor application

Abstract

In lab-on-chip development, screen printed electrode (SPE) method is usually utilized as an electrochemical sensor. As a basic conductive material, carbon has several advantages compared to other conductive materials. SPE performance can be enhanced by using a nanomaterial due to its unique properties, such as its small size particle and large surface area that can accelerate the electron transfer on the surface of the electrode. Graphene as a carbon-based nanomaterial is an extraordinary material to work with because of its good electrical conductivity and large specific surface area. In this work, we developed a graphene paste from the water-based graphene ink with the addition of polyurethane binder material to realize a nanocarbon conductive paste, which insoluble in water and other electrolytes. Our graphene paste was deposited on the working electrode area of SPE and the performance was tested using cyclic voltammetry method. The result showed that the optimal ratio for the graphene carbon paste, polyurethane to graphene ink, was 1:15 %vol. With this ratio, the performance of the modified SPE could successfully be increased and it also showed a stable sensing performance by having a low error value, below 3%, for 7 times of repeated measurements.