An All-Solid-State Ag/AgCl Reference Electrode Based on the Polydopamine Coating

A solid thin film Ag/AgCl reference electrode modified by polydopamine (PDA) was developed in order to present a stable and fixed reference potential in solution. The reference electrode consists of a silver film, an AgCl layer and a PDA-modified film. The bare Ag/AgCl reference electrode, Nafion-modified Ag/AgCl reference electrode, PDA-modified Ag/AgCl reference electrode and Nafion-PDA-modified Ag/AgCl reference electrode were fabricated respectively. The sensitivity of these reference electrodes in KCl solution was measured, and the PDA-modified reference electrode had a sensitivity of 2.1 mV/pCl. Then the stability and reversibility were tested in different solutions in buffer and cyclic voltammetric characteristics was also investigated. The results showed that the reference electrode modified by PDA was stabled in PBS solution within a month, with a standard deviation of 1.4 mV. The response potential of electrode modified by PDA always recovers to a relatively stable potential and the deviation is less than 5 mV in different pH buffer solutions. The PDA-modified reference electrode also showed minimal drift over 50 cyclic voltammetry tests compared to other reference electrodes. The reference electrode modified by PDA has good reproducibility, and the sensitivity of the sensor composed of the self-made electrode is close to that of the commercial reference electrode.

Automated summary

A solid thin film Ag/AgCl reference electrode modified by polydopamine was developed to provide a stable and fixed reference potential in solution. The PDA-modified reference electrode exhibited good stability and reversibility in different solutions, and minimal drift in cyclic voltammetry tests.