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

Abstract

Highlights 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). A screen-printed graphene conductor exhibits a high electrical conductivity of 1.49 × 104 S m−1 and good mechanical flexibility. An electrochemical sodium ion sensor based on graphene ink exhibits an excellent potentiometric sensing performance in a mechanically bent state. Real-time monitoring of sodium ion concentration in sweat is demonstrated. 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.