Ultra-high sensitivity pH sensor based on vertical organic electrochemical transistors with extended gate.

ABSTRACT

An ultra-high sensitivity pH sensor based on vertical organic electrochemical transistors (vOECT) with extended gate was proposed. The vOECT, which exhibited high transconductance (gm), was for the first time used in the preparation of a pH sensor. The extended gate was modified by electrochemical deposition of polyaniline (PANI) using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique. Open circuit potential (OCP) measurements were used to optimize the scan rate, showing a super-Nernstian sensitivity at all scan rates. The pH sensor based on vOECT with extended gate was investigated at different pH levels, and it exhibited an ultra-high sensitivity of 3363.6 µA/pH in the pH range 5-9, which was about 36 times greater than the maximum current sensitivity (91 µA/pH) of other transistor-based pH sensors, to the best of our knowledge. This pH sensor performed excellently in terms of reversibility, long-term stability, and selectivity. To confirm the reliability of the pH sensor, we conducted measurements on real samples using this pH sensor and compared the results with those obtained from a standard pH meter. The ultra-high sensitivity pH sensor based on vOECT with extended gate offers a sensitive and promising alternative in environmental monitoring, food safety, chemistry, clinical diagnostics, and bio-sensing applications.