Wearable Sweatband Sensor Platform Based on Gold Nanodendrite Array as Efficient Solid Contact of Ion-Selective Electrode

As chemical sensors are in great demand for portable and wearable analytical applications, it is highly desirable to develop an all-solid-state ion-selective electrode (ISE) and reference electrode (RE) platform with simplicity and stability. Here we propose a wearable sensor platform with a new type of all-solid-state ISE based on a gold nanodendrite (AuND) array electrode as the solid contact and a poly­(vinyl acetate)/inorganic salt (PVA/KCl) membrane-coated all-solid-state RE. A simple and controllable method was developed to fabricate the AuNDs on a microwell array patterned chip by one-step electrodeposition without additional processing. For the first time, the AuND electrodes with different real surface area and double layer capacitance were developed as solid contact of the Na⁺-ISE to investigate the relationship between performance of the ISE and surface area. As-prepared AuND-ISE with larger surface area (∼7.23 cm²) exhibited enhanced potential stability compared to those with smaller surface area (∼1.85 cm²) and to bare Au ISE. Important as the ISE, the PVA/KCl membrane-coated Ag/AgCl RE exhibited highly stable potential even after 3 months’ storage. Finally, a wearable sweatband sensor platform was developed for efficient sweat collection and real-time analysis of sweat sodium during indoor exercise. This all-solid-state ISE and RE integrated sensor platform provided a very simple and reliable way to construct diverse portable and wearable devices for healthcare, sports, clinical diagnosis, and environmental analysis applications