Effects of Polymer Binder, Surfactant and film Thickness on pH Sensitivity of Polymer Thick Film Sensors

Measuring the change of the conductivity of a Polyaniline (PANI) film while in contact with a solution is considered to be a costeffective tool for pH sensing. The device consists of a PANI film deposited between two identical electrodes, reducing the number of fabrication steps. To ensure the sensors display an optimum response to solutions of different pH values, it is important to understand the effect of the polymer binder, surfactant and film thickness. The effect of varying the amount of Polyvinyl butyral (PVB) and Hypermer (PS3) on the pH sensitivity of screen printed thick film sensors is reported.