Ion Current Oscillation with Polyelectrolyte Modified Micropipettes

Abstract

Here, we report for the first time that ion current oscillation (ICO) with periodic amplitude and frequency can autonomously occur at polyimidazole brush (PvimB) modified pipettes in an asymmetric solution with pH gradient (e.g. pH 6.0/pH 8.0). Experimental results demonstrated that under a strong bias voltage, the proton responsible PvimB modified pipettes exhibited significant current switching behavior under negative bias voltages, which contributed to periodic oscillating ion current under constant biases. Based on this dynamic, the frequency and amplitude of the ICO phenomenon were regulated by adjusting the pH gradient in the asymmetric solution. ICO under different bias voltages were further explored to show the voltage-dependent nature of this phenomenon. This observation of ICO phenomena offers a new strategy that designing iontronic devices with dynamic conductivity changes induced by surface chemical interactions in spatial confinements.