Affiliation:
1. Department of Fisheries Faculty of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Gorgan 4913815739 Iran
2. School of Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering University of Tehran Tehran 1439957131 Iran
3. School of Engineering Deakin University Geelong Victoria 3216 Australia
Abstract
Monitoring aquaculture water quality, especially ammonium levels affecting fish health, is challenging due to limitations in traditional methods. This study presents an innovative capacitive sensor with an ionic hydrogel transducer for real‐time ammonium concentration monitoring. The sensor operates through ammonium‐induced dissociation in the hydrogel, causing osmotic pressure changes and altering electrode capacitance. Analytical formulations verified by finite element simulations demonstrate the sensor's ability to detect varying ammonium levels. Detailed analysis covers diffusion kinetics, swelling behavior, stress distributions, voltage variations, and ion equilibrium concentrations. The findings show a 20% increase in capacitance change within 200 s, even with a 3 μM ammonium concentration exposure. Additionally, the capacitance change plateau at ammonium levels exceeding 1 mM. The presented concept offers a promising and cost‐effective approach to addressing the limitations of traditional methods, paving the way for future research and development in real‐time water quality monitoring in aquaculture systems.