Nanoparticles-Modified Chemical Sensor Fabricated on a Flexible Polymer Substrate for Cadmium(II) Detection

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a chemical sensor which was microfabricated on top of liquid crystal polymer (LCP) substrate. As a result of the unique material properties of LCP, the sensor showed favorable flexibility as well as operational reliability. These features demonstrate potential for integration of the sensor into automated sensing vehicles to achieve real-time detection. The sensor consists of a gold working electrode, a silver/silver chloride reference electrode, and a gold counter electrode. The working electrode of the sensor was further modified with bismuth nanoparticles and Nafion. The modified sensor exhibited a significantly enhanced sensing capability toward cadmium metal ion (Cd(II)) in comparison to the unmodified one. The effects of deposition potential and deposition time on the sensing performance of the sensor were extensively investigated through electrochemical experiments. With optimized parameters, the sensor was capable of quantifying Cd(II) in the concentration range of 0.3 to 25 µg/L. The minimum Cd(II) concentration detected by the sensor was 0.06 µg/L under quiescent deposition. The obtained results suggest that the proposed sensor has a great potential to be deployed for in-situ Cd(II) determination. Keywords: flexible chemical sensor; liquid crystal polymer; bismuth nanoparticles; anodic stripping voltammetry; cadmium detection