Paper-based potentiometric pH sensor using carbon electrode drawn by pencil

A flexible and disposable paper-based pH sensor fabricated with a pencil-drawn working electrode and a Ag/AgCl paste reference electrode is demonstrated for the first time to show pH response by the potentiometric principle. The sensor substrate is made of chromatography paper with a wax-printed hydrophobic area, and various types of carbon pencils are tested as working electrodes. The pH sensitivities of the electrodes drawn by carbon pencils with different hardnesses range from 16.5 to 26.9 mV/pH. The proposed sensor is expected to be more robust against shape change in electrodes on a flexible substrate than other types of chemiresistive/amperometric pH sensors