Publicação
Electrochemical and structural characterization of nanocomposite Agy:TiNx thin films for dry bioelectrodes: the effect of the N/Ti ratio and Ag content
| Resumo: | Ag-y:TiNx nanocomposite thin films sputtered with different N/Ti atomic ratios and Ag atomic contents were characterized from the structural and morphological points of view. Their electrochemical behaviour was studied in a synthetic sweat solution, aiming at selecting a suitable material for biolectrode applications. An increase of the N/Ti atomic ratio, which is accompanied by an increase of the Ag atomic content, leads to a substantial increase of the roughness and porosity of the samples, especially for N/Ti ratios >0.2. For N/Ti atomic ratios up to 0.3 (15 at.% Ag) no metallic Ag segregation is visible in the TiNx matrix. Hence, the possible formation of TiAg and Ti2Ag intermetallics or even a Ag/TiAg/Ti2Ag phase mixture, although not demonstrated, should not be disregarded. As for the N/Ti atomic ratio = 0.7 (32 at.% Ag) sample, the Ag phases are predominantly concentrated near the interface with the substrate. The amount of Ag phases at the surface of the films remains somewhat low for all TiN under-stoichiometric films, even for Ag atomic contents up to 32 at.%. When the TiNx matrix reaches the stoichiometric condition (sample with N/Ti atomic ratio = 1 and 20 at.% Ag), Ag segregation occurs and metallic Ag aggregates are visible at the surface of the film, leading to a substantially different electrochemical behaviour. The impedance of the Ag-y: TiNx films in synthetic sweat solution is mainly ruled by the roughness/porosity variation, thus the higher the N/Ti atomic ratio, the lower the impedance. The interfacial film/sweat electrochemical noise and drift were similar for all films and comparable to the results obtained for commercial Ag/AgCl electrodes (except for the N/Ti atomic ratio = 1 and 20 at.% Ag film). In view of the results, it may be concluded that the samples with N/Ti atomic ratios = 0.3 (15 at.% Ag) and 0.7 (32 at.% Ag) are the most appropriate for further bioelectrode development. |
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| Autores principais: | Pedrosa, Paulo Eduardo Teixeira Baptista |
| Outros Autores: | Machado, D.; Fiedler, P.; Alves, E.; Barradas, N. P.; Haueisen, J.; Vaz, F.; Fonseca, C. |
| Assunto: | Biopotential Dry electrodes EIS voltammetry TiN Ag-doping Sputtering EIS voltammetry |
| Ano: | 2015 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | artigo |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso restrito |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade do Minho |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho |
| Resumo: | Ag-y:TiNx nanocomposite thin films sputtered with different N/Ti atomic ratios and Ag atomic contents were characterized from the structural and morphological points of view. Their electrochemical behaviour was studied in a synthetic sweat solution, aiming at selecting a suitable material for biolectrode applications. An increase of the N/Ti atomic ratio, which is accompanied by an increase of the Ag atomic content, leads to a substantial increase of the roughness and porosity of the samples, especially for N/Ti ratios >0.2. For N/Ti atomic ratios up to 0.3 (15 at.% Ag) no metallic Ag segregation is visible in the TiNx matrix. Hence, the possible formation of TiAg and Ti2Ag intermetallics or even a Ag/TiAg/Ti2Ag phase mixture, although not demonstrated, should not be disregarded. As for the N/Ti atomic ratio = 0.7 (32 at.% Ag) sample, the Ag phases are predominantly concentrated near the interface with the substrate. The amount of Ag phases at the surface of the films remains somewhat low for all TiN under-stoichiometric films, even for Ag atomic contents up to 32 at.%. When the TiNx matrix reaches the stoichiometric condition (sample with N/Ti atomic ratio = 1 and 20 at.% Ag), Ag segregation occurs and metallic Ag aggregates are visible at the surface of the film, leading to a substantially different electrochemical behaviour. The impedance of the Ag-y: TiNx films in synthetic sweat solution is mainly ruled by the roughness/porosity variation, thus the higher the N/Ti atomic ratio, the lower the impedance. The interfacial film/sweat electrochemical noise and drift were similar for all films and comparable to the results obtained for commercial Ag/AgCl electrodes (except for the N/Ti atomic ratio = 1 and 20 at.% Ag film). In view of the results, it may be concluded that the samples with N/Ti atomic ratios = 0.3 (15 at.% Ag) and 0.7 (32 at.% Ag) are the most appropriate for further bioelectrode development. |
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