Reaction–diffusion equation model in the electrical double layer for exploring the response signal in electrochemical sensing

Abstract

Electron transfer in the electrode–solution interface is responsible for the signal in the electrochemical sensor. However, the Electrical Double-Layer (EDL) characteristic is usually ignored in signal modeling. Here, we constructed a model based on the reaction–diffusion equation to describe the dynamics in the EDL during sensing. With this model, many common experimental phenomena, such as transient/steady-state current variation or detection nonlinearization, can be unraveled by exploring the effects of position, kinetics proportionality coefficient (k), and reaction order ([Formula: see text]). We also put forward some suggestions to improve the stability and linear detection range for future sensor design.