Potentiometric sensors using cotton yarns, carbon nanotubes and polymeric membranes

• A simple and generalized approach to build electrochemical sensors for wearable devices is presented. Commercial cotton yarns are first turned into electrical conductors through a simple dyeing process using a carbon nanotube ink. These conductive yarns are then partially coated with a suitable polymeric membrane to build ion-selective electrodes. Potentiometric measurements using these yarn-potentiometric sensors are demonstrated. Examples of yarns that can sense pH, K+ and NH4+ are presented. In all cases, these sensing yarns show limits of detection and linear ranges that are similar to those obtained with lab-made solid-state ion-selective electrodes. Through the immobilization of these sensors in a band-aid, it is shown that this approach could be easily implemented in a wearable device. Factors affecting the performance of the sensors and future potential applications are discussed.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)