Potentiometric performance of flexible pH sensor based on polyaniline nanofiber arrays

We report potentiometric performance of a polyaniline nanofiber array-based pH sensor fabricated by combining a dilute chemical polymerization and low-cost and simple screen printing process. The pH sensor had a two-electrode configuration consisting of polyaniline nanofiber array sensing electrode and Ag/AgCl reference electrode. Measurement of electromotive force between sensing and reference electrodes provided various electrochemical properties of pH sensors. The pH sensor show excellent sensor performances of sensitivity of 62.4 mV/pH, repeatability of 97.9% retention, response time of 12.8 s, and durability of 3.0 mV/h. The pH sensor could also measure pH changes as the milk is spoiled, which is similar to those of a commercial pH meter. The pH sensors were highly flexible, and thus can measure the fruit decay on the curved surface of an apple. This flexible and miniature pH sensor opens new opportunities for monitoring of water, product process, human health, and chemical (or bio) reactions even using small volumes of samples.