Mini analysis systems for ion concentrations have posed a considerable challenge for developers to date. They had to find a compromise between size, costs and reproducible results.
A solution to this problem is delineated by the research team headed by Prof Dr Wolfgang Schuhmann from the Center of Electrochemical Sciences at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum in the journal “Angewandte Chemie International Edition”. The researchers designed an electrode that measures the concentration of specific positive ions in a stable manner and could be mass-produced at low costs. The electrode could be even smaller than 100 micrometres and be manufactured simply by printing a paste.