Low-Cost, On-Site, Nano-Impact Detection of Silver Nanoparticles via Laser-Ablated Screen-Printed Microelectrodes

With the ever-growing presence of silver nanoparticles in consumer products, there is a need for cost-effective and on-site monitoring of their influence on our environment. Herein, we report the use of screen-printed and laser-ablated microelectrode arrays (SPMEAs) for the electrochemical detection of 20 nm-sized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) via collision electrochemistry. The electrodes’ morphology is optically analyzed and their electrochemical properties later characterized using cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. The SPMEAs are calibrated using a AgNP concentration range of 1 to 100 pM, resulting in a linear dependency of 22 mHz pM⁻¹ for the impact frequency. Finally, to demonstrate the possibility of future on-site applications, an in-house built portable nanoparticle detection (POND) device is used to measure Faradaic AgNP impacts on a SPMEA, in a solution contaminated with urea.