Ink-jet printing of particle-free silver inks on fabrics with a superhydrophobic protection layer for fabrication of robust electrochemical sensors

The present work demonstrates the fabrication of novel flexible sensors by the deposition of conductive silver patterns on polyester-based fabrics. The conductive layer on the textile surface was formed by ink-jet printing of particle-free silver inks and a subsequent heat treatment. A novel approach is presented to define the working area and ensure high electrode stability by deposition of a superhydrophobic coating on the conductive patterns. The physical and chemical characterizations of the fabricated electrodes were conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), and contact angle measurements. The conductivity of the printed electrodes was highly stable against repeated bending cycles. Hydrogen peroxide was used as the model analyte to evaluate the electrochemical sensing performance of the textile-based flexible sensors. The chronoamperometry results indicated a high sensitivity of 295.3 ± 0.04 µA mM⁻¹ cm⁻² (n = 5) with the linear range of 50 µM-70 mM. The results suggested that our novel textile-based electrode design is an excellent candidate for the construction of flexible electrochemical sensors with high conductivity and catalytic activity, high bending resilience, wide sensing window, and excellent storage stability.