Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
Lab Chip. 2019 Aug 7;19(15):2589-2597. doi: 10.1039/c9lc00417c. Epub 2019 Jun 28.
Combining electrochemistry with microfluidics is attractive for a wide array of applications including multiplexing, automation, and high-throughput screening. Electrochemical instrumentation also has the advantage of being low-cost and can enable high analyte sensitivity. For many electrochemical microfluidic applications, carbon electrodes are more desirable than noble metals because they are resistant to fouling, have high activity, and large electrochemical solvent windows. At present, fabrication of electrochemical microfluidic devices bearing integrated carbon electrodes remains a challenge. Here, a new system for integrating polycaprolactone (PCL) and carbon composite electrodes into microfluidics is presented. The PCL : carbon composites have excellent electrochemical activity towards a wide range of analytes as well as high electrical conductivity (∼1000 S m). The new system utilizes a laser cutter for fast, simple fabrication of microfluidics using PCL as a bonding layer. As a proof-of-concept application, oil-in-water and water-in-oil droplets are electrochemically analysed. Small-scale electrochemical organic synthesis for TEMPO mediated alcohol oxidation is also demonstrated.
电化学与微流控技术相结合在多个领域具有吸引力，包括多重分析、自动化和高通量筛选。电化学仪器也具有成本低的优势，并能实现高分析物灵敏度。对于许多电化学微流控应用，碳电极比贵金属更理想，因为它们不易堵塞、具有高活性和大电化学溶剂窗口。目前，制造带有集成碳电极的电化学微流控器件仍然是一个挑战。在这里，提出了一种将聚己内酯（PCL）和碳复合材料电极集成到微流控中的新系统。PCL：碳复合材料对广泛的分析物具有优异的电化学活性，以及高导电性（约 1000 S m）。该新系统利用激光切割机，使用 PCL 作为键合层快速、简单地制造微流控。作为概念验证应用，对水包油和油包水乳液进行了电化学分析。还展示了用于 TEMPO 介导的醇氧化的小规模电化学有机合成。
