Electroplating of Multiple Materials in Parallel Using Patterned Gels with Applications in Electrochemical Sensing

Autor: Aliakbar Mohammadzadeh, Alison Fox-Robichaud, P. Ravi Selvaganapathy
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Sensors, Vol 20, Iss 3, p 886 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1424-8220
20030886
DOI: 10.3390/s20030886
Popis: Electrodeposition is a versatile technique for the fabrication of electrodes in micro-electroanalytical devices. Conductive but low-cost materials, such as copper, can be coated with functional yet higher-cost materials such as gold or silver using electrodeposition to lower the overall cost while maintaining functionality. When the electrodeposition of multiple materials is required, current methods use a multistep process that deposits one material at a time, which requires a significant amount of time and a significant number of steps. Additionally, they use a large volume of electrolytes suitable for coating large objects, which is wasteful and unnecessary for the prototyping or coating of microelectrodes with a small area. In this paper, a new method of electroplating is introduced in which we used gels to immobilize and pattern electroplating electrolytes on a substrate surface. Agarose, as an immobilizing medium, enables the immersion of the substrate in a common working electrolyte without cross-mixing different electrolytes. We demonstrate the printing of jelly electrolytes by using spot-dispensing or microfluidic flow. Xurographically patterned films laminated on the substrate function as a mask and confine the printed gels to desired locations. After printing, the substrate is placed in a common working electrolyte container, and multimaterial patterns are produced through the application of an electrical current in a single step.
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