DEVELOPMENT AND OPTIMIZATION OF AMMONIUM-SENSITIVE CHEMFETS FOR AQUEOUS SENSING

Abstract

Ion sensing is an increasingly important field of research for regulating and detecting high concentrations of ions harmful to the environment. One such ion is the ammonium ion which, because of eutrophication, destroy local ecosystems. ChemFETs have been a promising design for sensing agriculturally relevant ions such as the ammonium ion. The component that allows the sensor to detect these relevant ions is the ion selective membrane which is made up of three components: the receptor, the polymer, and the ionic additive. This study seeks to find trends in how the sensor performs when increasing the amount of receptor molecules in the ion selective membrane while simultaneously decreasing the amount of ionic additive. Furthermore, this study’s conclusions can be used to base future ammonium ChemFET designs for future optimization.