The analysis of many environmental and clinical samples requires the modification of the original pH, which is conventionally carried out by manual/automatic addition of acid, base, or buffering reagents. In the case of decentralized measurements, often, this approach is not plausible. Instead, reagentless alternatives, such as electrochemically activated in-situ pH adjustments, are suitable. Herein, we present a method for electrochemical, reversible pH modulation of thin-layer samples (<100 µm thickness) using the co-polymer poly(aniline-co-o-aminophenol) (PANOA). The PANOA's electropolymerization strategy was optimized considering the proton exchange properties in the final material. Thus, limiting the maximum anodic potential to 0.85 V and with the number of cyclic scans being ≤150), the optimal pH modulation capabilities were observed. The reversible proton exchange properties of PANOA were quantified by monitoring the pH inside the thin-layer sample (volume of 0.6 µL), which was defined by a 3D-printed microfluidic cell and a pH-sensor placed in a face planar configuration to the PANOA film. A pH value in the range of 2–4 can repeatably be reached in the samples in 3 min, purely by an electrochemical means and without the addition of external reagents. The concept has been demonstrated to acidify samples at environmental pH (artificial samples and Seawater). The outcomes suggest that the family of polyaniline-co-polymers are interesting to be explored and utilized for electrochemically based pH modulation strategies, if careful considerations are taken regarding their electropolymerization process. Overall, such materials could contribute to the development of continuous, decentralized measuring devices requiring acidification for the formal detection of environmental markers, such as nutrients, carbon species speciation and alkalinity, among others.

Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) is a key component of the global carbon cycle and plays a critical role in ocean acidification and proliferation of phototrophs. Its quantification at a high spatial resolution is essential for understanding various biogeochemical processes. We present an analytical method for 2D chemical imaging of DIC by combining a conventional CO2 optode with localized electrochemical acidification from a polyaniline (PANI)-coated stainless-steel mesh electrode. Initially, the optode response is governed by local concentrations of free CO2 in the sample, corresponding to the established carbonate equilibrium at the (unmodified) sample pH. Upon applying a mild potential-based polarization to the PANI mesh, protons are released into the sample, shifting the carbonate equilibrium toward CO2 conversion (>99%), which corresponds to the sample DIC. It is herein demonstrated that the CO2 optode–PANI tandem enables the mapping of free CO2 (before PANI activation) and DIC (after PANI activation) in complex samples, providing high 2D spatial resolution (approx. 400 μm). The significance of this method was proven by inspecting the carbonate chemistry of complex environmental systems, including the freshwater plant Vallisneria spiralis and lime-amended waterlogged soil. This work is expected to pave the way for new analytical strategies that combine chemical imaging with electrochemical actuators, aiming to enhance classical sensing approaches via in situ (and reagentless) sample treatment. Such tools may provide a better understanding of environmentally relevant pH-dependent analytes related to the carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles.

We present a methodology for the detection of dissolved inorganic phosphorous (DIP) in seawater using an electrochemically driven actuator-sensor system. The motivation for this work stems from the lack of tangible solutions for the in situ monitoring of nutrients in water systems. It does not require the addition of any reagents to the sample and works under mild polarization conditions, with the sample confined to a thin-layer compartment. Subsequent steps include the oxidation of polyaniline to lower the pH, the delivery of molybdate via a molybdenum electrode, and the formation of an electroactive phosphomolybdate complex from DIP species. The phosphomolybdate complex is ultimately detected by either cyclic voltammetry (CV) or square wave voltammetry (SWV). The combined release of protons and molybdate consistently results in a sample pH < 2 as well as a sufficient excess of molybdate, fulfilling the conditions required for the stoichiometric detection of DIP. The current of the voltammetric peak was found to be linearly related to DIP concentrations between 1 and 20 μM for CV and 0.1 and 20 μM for SWV, while also being selective against common silicate interference. The analytical application of the system was demonstrated by the validated characterization of five seawater samples, revealing an acceptable degree of difference compared to chromatography measurements. This work paves the way for the future DIP digitalization in environmental waters by in situ electrochemical probes with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. It is expected to provide real-time data on anthropogenic nutrient discharges as well as the improved monitoring of seawater restoration actions.

Herein, we investigate the selective deionization (i.e., the removal of ions) in thin-layer samples (<100 mu m in thickness) using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) covered with an ionophore-based ion-selective membrane (ISM), resulting in a CNT-ISM tandem actuator. The concept of selective deionization is based on a recent discovery by our group (), where the activation of the CNT-ISM architecture is conceived on a mild potential step that charges the CNTs to ultimately generate the depletion of ions in a thin-layer sample. The role of the ISM is to selectively facilitate the transport of only one ion species to the CNT lattice. To estimate the deionization efficiency of such a process, a potentiometric sensor is placed less than 100 mu m away from the CNT-ISM tandem, inside a microfluidic cell. This configuration helped to reveal that the selective uptake of ions increases with the capacitance of the CNTs and that the ISM requires a certain ion-exchanger capacity, but this does not further affect its efficiency. The versatility of the concept is demonstrated by comparing the selective uptake of five different ions (H+, Li+, Na+, K+, and Ca2+), suggesting the possibility to remove any cation from a sample by simply changing the ionophore in the ISM. Furthermore, ISMs based on two ionophores proved to achieve the simultaneous and selective deionization of two ion species using the same actuator. Importantly, the relative uptake between the two ions was found to be governed by the ion-ionophore binding constants, with the most strongly bound ion being favored over other ions. The CNT-ISM actuator concept is expected to contribute to the analytical sensing field in the sense that ionic interferents influencing the analytical signal can selectively be removed from samples to lower traditional limits of detection.

The decentralization of chemical sensing to attain environmental-related information is today highly desirable to increase the knowledge on biological or geological events as well as effluents. The current state of the field moves toward submersible probes; chemical sensors implemented into submersible devices for quantifying analytes over extended times. However, many sensors are still not robust enough for such applications. Additionally, the detections of most analytes require reagent addition and other steps before analysis (i.e., pre-treatments). For such analyses to be implemented in decentralized measurements, it would be beneficial to find reagentless approaches to modify samples and avoid waste associated with the reagent addition. This thesis aimed to develop such strategies using different solid materials capable of imposing ion-transfer events (actuators) under electrochemical control, to achieve measuring the analytes in the same sample using chemical sensors. Both actuators and sensors were jointly employed in thin layer (or near thin layer) samples, inside newly designed 3D-printed cells. This allowed for small sample volumes (ca 100 µm thicknesses) down to 0.5 µL to be analyzed, and resulted in fast, non-diffusion limited measurements that facilitated the sensor-actuator concepts. 

First, acidification of thin layer samples using polyaniline (PANI) was investigated. By electrochemical oxidation of PANI, its molecular structure changed resulting in hydrogen ions (acid) being delivered to the thin layer sample within two minutes or less, shifting its pH from ca 8 down to 2–3. By combining PANI and pH-sensors, reliable detection of alkalinity in real and artificial water samples could be achieved for a period of two weeks and possibly more. Also, by combining the PANI-based acidification with planar optodes capable of measuring pH or CO2 with high spatial resolution, buffer capacity or dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) gradients could be resolved in a 2D domain with sub-mm resolution. PANI-based acidification was tested for sensing several environmental samples, including freshwater plants, brackish water, seawater, and soil, presenting great versatility in analytical performance. 

Second, a concept of selective deionization of thin layer samples was developed. The importance of such a concept is related to the selectivity of ion-based measurements, where ions such as Li+ or NH4+ are difficult to detect in real samples because of interfering ions increasing their limit of detection (LOD). Non-faradic processes were explored to remove such interferents by using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for modulating the ion transfer with the sample. To facilitate selective deionization to only remove one ion species, the CNTs were covered with ultra-thin ion-selective membranes (ISMs; ca 200 nm thick). The tandem of CNTs-ISM was found to be capable of selectively removing multiple different cations, proven with the monitoring from both potentiometric sensors and optodes additionally implemented into the thin layer sample. Overall, the CNTs-ISM tandem shows great promise for lowering the LOD of chemical sensors in complex matrixes such as biological or environmental samples, which could aid to decentralized measurements in the future.

Införandet av kemiska sensorer för decentraliserade mätningar utanför laboratoriemiljö är idag eftersträvat för att öka kunskaperna kring människans påverkan på naturen, samt för att öka förståelsen kring biologiska och geologiska händelseförlopp i naturen. Idag riktas mycket fokus inom den analytiska kemin på att utveckla kemiska sensorer som kan kopplas på nedsänkbara sonder och direkt mäta halter av ämnen i naturliga vatten över en längre tid. De flesta kemiska sensorer som har utvecklats idag är dessvärre inte robusta nog för längre mätningar, och vissa ämnen kan inte mätas utan reagens tillförs provet. En lösning till denna utmaning skulle vara att finna reagenslösa lösningar för att justera provernas sammansättning inför analys. Denna avhandling hade som mål att utveckla sådana metodologier baserade på material vilka kan styra jontransporter under elektrokemisk kontroll (aktuatorer), samtidigt som deras förmåga att modulera dessa har kvantifierats med kemiska sensorer. Både aktuatorer och sensorer implementerades i tunnskiktsprover i 3D-printade celler. Detta medförde att mycket små volymer av prover (ca 100 µm tunna prover) ned till ca 0.5 µL kunde analyseras, vilket resulterade i snabba mätningar som inte var begränsade av diffusionen.

Först undersöktes materialet polyanilin (PANI) för att justera pH i tunnskiktsprover. När den elektrokemiska potentialen skiftar för PANI så ändras dess molekylära struktur, vilket leder till att vätejoner (syre) bindningar släps från materialet till tunnskiktsprovet, vilket sänker dess pH från ca 8 ner till 2-3. I kombination med en pH-elektrod i tunnskiktsprover kunde tillförlitliga alkalinitet-mätningar utföras i riktiga och artificiella prover över en period av två veckor, och möjligen ännu längre. Genom att kombinera PANI-försurningen med plana optoder som kunde mäta pH och CO2 med hög bildupplösning kunde koncentrationer av buffertkapacitet och totalt oorganiskt kol (DIC) mätas i 2D med en hög upplösning (mm>). Den PANI-baserade försurningen testades i diverse prover; på färskvatten växter, i bräckt vatten, havsvatten och i jordprover, vilket påvisar dess exceptionellt mångsidiga analytiska prestation.

Därefter utvecklades konceptet för selektiv avjonisering av tunnskiktsprover. Detta koncept är extra intressant när den ställs i kontexten att vissa jonmätningar inte kan utföras på grund utav att de störs ut av interferenser i provet vilket höjer deras detektionsgränser (LOD), vilket är fallet för Li+ och NH4+-sensorer. Icke-Faradiska processer utforskades baserade på kolnanorör (CNTs) för att modulera jonöverföringar. För att uppnå selektivitet för att avlägsna enbart en jonart så täcktes CNTs med ultra-tunna jonselektiva membran (ISMs; ca 200 nm). Resultaten påvisade att det är möjligt att selektivt avjonisera prov genom denna CNT-ISM tandem, och flera olika joner påvisades möjliga att undergå denna process med hjälp av potentiometriska sensorer och optoder implementerade i den 3D-printade tunnskiktscellen. Överlag visar denna CNTs-ISM tandem potential för att kunna sänka LODs för sensorer i komplexa matriser, såsom biologiska och miljöprover, vilket skulle kunna bidra till decentraliserade mätningar i framtiden.

In this letter, we demonstrate 2D acidification of samples at environmental and physiological pH with an electrochemically activated polyaniline (PANI) mesh. A novel sensor–actuator concept is conceived for such a purpose. The sample is sandwiched between the PANI (actuator) and a planar pH optode (sensor) placed at a very close distance (∼0.50 mm). Upon application of a mild potential to the mesh, in contrast to previously reported acidification approaches, PANI releases a significant number of protons, causing an acid–base titration in the sample. This process is monitored in time and space by the pH optode, providing chemical imaging of the pH decrease along the dynamic titration via photographic acquisition. Acidification of samples at varying buffer capacity has been investigated: the higher the buffer capacity, the more time (and therefore proton charge) was needed to reach a pH of 4.5 or even lower. Also, the ability to map spatial differences in buffer capacity within a sample during the acid–base titration was unprecedentedly proven. The sensor–actuator concept could be used for monitoring certain analytes in samples that specifically require acidification pretreatment. Particularly, in combination with different optodes, dynamic mapping of concentration gradients will be accessible in complex environmental samples ranging from roots and sediments to bacterial aggregates.

We present a phenomenon consisting of the synergistic effects of a capacitive material, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and an ion-selective, thin-layer membrane. CNTs can trigger a charge disbalance and propagate this effect into a thin-layer membrane domain under mildly polarization conditions. With the exceptional selectivity and the fast establishment of new concentration profiles provided by the thin-layer membrane, a selective ion capture from the solution is expected, which is necessarily linked to the charge generation on the CNTs lattice. As a proof-of-concept, we investigated an arrangement based on a layer of CNTs modified with a nanometer-sized, potassium-selective membrane to conform an actuator that is in contact with a thin-layer aqueous solution (thickness of 50 μm). The potassium ion content was fixed in the solution (0.1–10 mM range), and the system was operated for 120 s at −400 mV (with respect to the open circuit potential). A 10-fold decrease from the initial potassium concentration in the thin-layer solution was detected through either a potentiometric potassium-selective sensor or an optode confronted to the actuator system. This work is significant, because it provides empirical evidence for interconnected charge transfer processes in CNT–membrane systems (actuators) that result in controlled ion uptake from the solution, which is monitored by a sensor. One potential application of this concept is the removal of ionic interferences in a sample by means of the actuator to enhance precision of analytical assessments of a charged or neutral target in the sample with the sensor.

A versatile method to produce metallic nickel nanoparticles is demonstrated. Metallic Ni nanoparticles have been synthesized from aqueous solution of NiCl2 using gamma-radiation induced reduction. To prevent Ni re-oxidation, post-irradiation treatment was elaborated. Structural and compositional analyses were executed using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These studies reveal that the synthesized material consists of fcc Ni particles having size of 3.47 +/- 0.71 nm. The nanoparticles have a tendency to agglomerate to the larger clusters. The latter are partially oxidized to form thin amorphous/poor-crystalline Ni(OH)(2)/NiO layers at the surface. Magnetization measurements demonstrate that the nanomaterial exhibit ferromagnetic-like behaviour with magnetization 30% lower than that in bulk Ni. The large active surface area (ECSA, 39.2 m(2) g(-1)) and good electrochemical reversibility, confirmed by the electrochemical studies, make the synthesized material a potential candidate as an active component for energy storage devices.

In this work, we present a model based on the finite element approach to describe the electrochemically controlled release of ions from a redox-active film into a sample confined to a thin-layer spatial domain. The model includes the effect of interfacial charge transfer kinetics and 1D-diffusion treatment for an electron transfer-ion transfer (ET-IT) coupled reaction. More in detail, the oxidation of the redox-active film (ET) involves an ion release to an aqueous phase (IT). The dynamic concentration of the released ion is calculated when the ET-IT reaction proceeds under potentiostatic control, and the effect of the thickness of each phase (i.e., film or aqueous) on the diffusion profile is analyzed. The model is experimentally validated for the particular case in which oxidation of a thin film of polyaniline (PANI, 10 mu m in thickness) is linked to the release of protons from the film into an electrolyte solution. The proton release produces certain pH changes in the electrolyte that are monitored by a pH sensor located at 330 mu m from the PANI film. The charge associated with the proton release is related to the dynamic concentration of protons in the electrolyte through pH-coulograms that agree with the theoretical predictions. Overall, the model can reproduce the general behavior of the experimental proton pump and provides key insights into the functioning mechanism of electrochemical systems where redox and ion transfer reactions are coupled.

Herein, we report on a reagentless electroanalytical methodology for automatized acid–base titrations of water samples that are confined into very thin spatial domains. The concept is based on the recent discovery from our group (Wiorek, A. Anal. Chem. 2019, 91, 14951−14959), in which polyaniline (PANI) films were found to be an excellent material to release a massive charge of protons in a short time, achieving hence the efficient (and controlled) acidification of a sample. We now demonstrate and validate the analytical usefulness of this approach with samples collected from the Baltic Sea: the titration protocol indeed acts as an alkalinity sensor via the calculation of the proton charge needed to reach pH 4.0 in the sample, as per the formal definition of the alkalinity parameter. In essence, the alkalinity sensor is based on the linear relationship found between the released charge from the PANI film and the bicarbonate concentration in the sample (i.e., the way to express alkalinity measurements). The observed alkalinity in the samples presented a good agreement with the values obtained by manual (classical) acid–base titrations (discrepancies <10%). Some crucial advantages of the new methodology are that titrations are completed in less than 1 min (end point), the PANI film can be reused at least 74 times over a 2 week period (<5% of decrease in the released charge), and the utility of the PANI film to even more decrease the final pH of the sample (pH ∼2) toward applications different from alkalinity detection. Furthermore, the acidification can be accomplished in a discrete or continuous mode depending on the application demands. The new methodology is expected to impact the future digitalization of in situ acid–base titrations to obtain high-resolution data on alkalinity in water resources.