Combined and flexible screen-printed electrodes, modified with graphene and its hybrids with conducting polymers

Abstract

Emerging contaminants are substances that can affect the endocrine system of animals, humans and other living beings, causing adverse health effects of their offspring or subpopulations. Among these, we can highlight hormones (natural and synthetic), drugs, aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides, among others. The development of electrochemical sensors has advantages such as fast analysis, low cost, as well enabling in situ environmental monitoring. Allied to this, the manufacture of printed electrodes enables obtaining devices at a large scale, with different geometries, as well as allowing the incorporation of different functional materials in the ink composition. Additionally, they gain versatility when produced on soft, flexible substrates. Graphene has extraordinary electronic, thermal and mechanical properties as well as interacting strongly with the functional groups of conducting polymers (CPs) such as polyaniline. In its turn, due to their intrinsic properties, the development of electrodes based on CPs continues emerging with the appearance of new manufacturing methods, hybrids and their applications. Hybrids of graphene and CPs have synergistic properties such as increased specific capacitance and/or increased conductivity and, therefore, have been used in advanced devices, such as supercapacitors, fuel cells, solar cells, sensors, among others. The development of graphene-based conductive inks and their respective hybrids with CPs aimed at manufacturing flexible printed circuit sensors for the determination of emerging contaminants remains almost unexplored. Thus, in this research project, graphene and its respective hybrids with CPs such as PAni, Poli (ortho-ethoxyaniline) POEA and PPy will be produced, characterized and used for the manufacture of flexible printed circuit electrodes in order to determine substances of biological and environmental interest such as the hormones P4, estriol and 17±-ethinylestradiol, and Bisphenol A. (AU)