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. 2023 Dec 20;24(1):39.
doi: 10.3390/s24010039.

Electrochemical Properties of PEDOT:PSS/Graphene Conductive Layers in Artificial Sweat

Boriana Tzaneva  1 , Mariya Aleksandrova  2 , Valentin Mateev  3 , Bozhidar Stefanov  1 , Ivo Iliev  4
Affiliations

Electrochemical Properties of PEDOT:PSS/Graphene Conductive Layers in Artificial Sweat

Boriana Tzaneva et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Electrodes based on PEDOT:PSS are gaining increasing importance as conductive electrodes and functional layers in various sensors and biosensors due to their easy processing and biocompatibility. This study investigates PEDOT:PSS/graphene layers deposited via spray coating on flexible PET substrates. The layers are characterized in terms of their morphology, roughness (via AFM and SEM), and electrochemical properties in artificial sweat using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The layers exhibit dominant capacitive behavior at low frequencies, with cut-off frequencies determined for thicker layers at 1 kHz. The equivalent circuit used to fit the EIS data reveals a resistance of about three orders of magnitude higher inside the layer compared to the charge transfer resistance at the solid/liquid interface. The capacitance values determined from the CV curves range from 54.3 to 122.0 mF m-2. After 500 CV cycles in a potential window of 1 V (from -0.3 to 0.7 V), capacitance retention for most layers is around 94%, with minimal surface changes being observed in the layers. The results suggest practical applications for PEDOT:PSS/graphene layers, both for high-frequency impedance measurements related to the functioning of individual organs and systems, such as impedance electrocardiography, impedance plethysmography, and respiratory monitoring, and as capacitive electrodes in the low-frequency range, realized as layered PEDOT:PSS/graphene conductive structures for biosignal recording.

Keywords: artificial sweat; conductive polymer; cyclic voltammetry; electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; spray coating.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
AFM images of the surfaces of PEDOT:PSS/graphene layers for samples: (a) S90-3.5-10; (b) S105-3.5-10; (c) S100-2.0-5; (d) S100-3.5-5.
Figure 2
Figure 2
SEM images of surfaces of nanocomposite PEDOT:PSS/graphene deposited under different experimental conditions: (a) S90-3.5-10; (b) S105-3.5-10; (c) S100-2-5 (inset: in BSE mode); and (d) S100-3.5-5.
Figure 3
Figure 3
EIS of PEDOT:PSS/graphene layers sprayed under various experimental conditions: (a) Nyquist complex plots; (b) Bode plots showing magnitude (closed symbols) and phase (open symbols) of the impedance. The legend presented in (a) is valid for the entire figure.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cyclic voltammetry (CV) results for PEDOT:PSS/graphene layers in artificial sweat: (a) CV dependence at 0.1 V s−¹; (b) dependence of the capacitive voltammetric current on the scan rate of PEDOT:PSS:graphene layers.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Cyclic voltammograms of PEDOT:PSS/graphene with a scan rate of 100 mV s−¹ in artificial sweat for (a) S90-3.5-10, (b) S105-3.5-10, (c) S100-2-5, and (d) S100-3.5-5.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Electrochemical stability of PEDOT:PSS/graphene layers in artificial sweat after 500 CV scans with a scan rate of 100 mV s−¹ within a potential window from −0.3 to 0.7 V; (a) voltammetric charge; (b) capacitance retention.
Figure 7
Figure 7
SEM images in BSE mode of the S100-2.0-5 surface after 500 CV cycles at: (a) 1000× and (b) 20,000× magnification.
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