Issue

Vol. 13 (2021)

Highly Concentrated, Conductive, Defect-free Graphene Ink for Screen-Printed Sensor Application

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-021-00617-3
Dong Seok Kim
Department of Chemical Engineering, Kangwon National University, Samcheok, Gangwon‑do 25913, Republic of Korea
Jae‑Min Jeong
Resources Utilization Research Center, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejeon 34132, Republic of Korea
Hong Jun Park
Department of Chemical Engineering, Kangwon National University, Samcheok, Gangwon‑do 25913, Republic of Korea
Yeong Kyun Kim
Department of Chemical Engineering, Kangwon National University, Samcheok, Gangwon‑do 25913, Republic of Korea
Kyoung G. Lee
Center for Nano Bio Development, National Nanofab Center, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
Bong Gill Choi
Department of Chemical Engineering, Kangwon National University, Samcheok, Gangwon‑do 25913, Republic of Korea

Corresponding Author: Bong Gill Choi

bgchoi@kangwon.ac.kr

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 13 (2021), Article Number: 87

Abstract

Conductive inks based on graphene materials have received significant attention for the fabrication of a wide range of printed and flexible devices. However, the application of graphene fillers is limited by their restricted mass production and the low concentration of their suspensions. In this study, a highly concentrated and conductive ink based on defect-free graphene was developed by a scalable fluid dynamics process. A high shear exfoliation and mixing process enabled the production of graphene at a high concentration of 47.5 mg mL−1 for graphene ink. The screen-printed graphene conductor exhibits a high electrical conductivity of 1.49 × 104 S m−1 and maintains high conductivity under mechanical bending, compressing, and fatigue tests. Based on the as-prepared graphene ink, a printed electrochemical sodium ion (Na+) sensor that shows high potentiometric sensing performance was fabricated. Further, by integrating a wireless electronic module, a prototype Na+-sensing watch is demonstrated for the real-time monitoring of the sodium ion concentration in human sweat during the indoor exercise of a volunteer. The scalable and efficient procedure for the preparation of graphene ink presented in this work is very promising for the low-cost, reproducible, and large-scale printing of flexible and wearable electronic devices.


Highlights:


1 Ultrathin and defect-free graphene ink is prepared through a high-throughput fluid dynamics process, resulting in a high exfoliation yield (53.5%) and a high concentration (47.5 mg mL−1).
2 A screen-printed graphene conductor exhibits a high electrical conductivity of 1.49 × 104 S m−1 and good mechanical flexibility.
3 An electrochemical sodium ion sensor based on graphene ink exhibits an excellent potentiometric sensing performance in a mechanically bent state.
4 Real-time monitoring of sodium ion concentration in sweat is demonstrated.

Keywords

Graphene ink Fluid dynamics Screen printing Ion sensor Real-time monitoring
Kim, Dong Seok, Jae‑Min Jeong, Hong Jun Park, Yeong Kyun Kim, Kyoung G. Lee, and Bong Gill Choi. 2021. “Highly Concentrated, Conductive, Defect-Free Graphene Ink for Screen-Printed Sensor Application”. Nano-Micro Letters 13 (March):87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-021-00617-3.
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