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

Abstract 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.