Enhanced Electrochemical Sensitivity and Performance Using 3D Printed and Screen Printed Interdigitated Three-Electrode System.

Abstract

Three-electrode miniaturized interdigitated system (IDEs) for electrochemical measurements with enhanced sensitivity and performance was reported here. The system included a reference electrode, a counter electrode, and a working electrode, all configured as interconnected electrodes. Present work focused on optimizing the number of working electrodes and their geometric parameters to achieve peak performance, with bench marking system Potassium Ferricyanide. This optimization addressed the critical interplay between capacitance, resistance, sensitivity, and aspect ratio. Unlike previous configurations where the reference electrode was separated from the interdigitated design, the present approach integrates the reference electrode into the interdigitated configuration, greatly increasing sensitivity. Despite using a low-cost conductive material such as carbon PLA (polylactic acid) for 3D printed (3DP) electrodes, in a three-electrode interdigitated system, the current observed at the oxidation peak showed a significant increase of 97-98%, while the reduction peak exhibits an increase of 65-66% compared to the two-electrode interdigitated system. The screen-printed (SP) electrodes used for design validation exhibited minimal variation in cycles in a two working electrode interdigitated configuration. This progress highlighted the potential of interconnected electrodes in developing susceptible and efficient electrochemical sensors.