Additive-manufactured sensors for biofuel analysis: copper determination in bioethanol using a 3D-printed carbon black/polylactic electrode

• Published in: Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry 2020-05, Vol.412 (12), p.2755-2762
• Main Authors: João, Afonso F., Squissato, André L., Richter, Eduardo M., Muñoz, Rodrigo A. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ABC Highlights: authored by Rising Stars and Top Experts; Analytical Chemistry; Anodizing; Biochemistry; Biodegradability; Biodegradation; Biodiesel fuels; Biofuels; Biofuels - analysis; Biomass; Biomass energy; Biosensing Techniques - methods; Black carbon; Carbon; Carbon black; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Copper; Copper - analysis; Deposition; Dilution; Electrochemistry; Electrodes; Electrolytes; Ethanol; Filaments; Food Science; Fuels; Fused deposition modeling; Laboratory Medicine; Limit of Detection; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Oxidation; Oxidation-Reduction; Polyesters - chemistry; Polylactic acid; Printing, Three-Dimensional; Quality control; Quality management; Research Paper; Sensors; Soot - chemistry; Three dimensional models; Three dimensional printing
• ISSN: 1618-2642; 1618-2650
• DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02513-y

We show that fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D-printed electrodes can be used for quality control of fuel bioethanol. 3D-printing using carbon black/polylactic acid (CB-PLA) filaments resulted in conductive and biodegradable electrodes for biofuel analysis. As a proof-of-concept, copper determination in fuel bioethanol was performed, as such ions catalyse oxidation processes during storage and transport. Square-wave anodic-stripping voltammetry (SWASV) of copper was achieved after sample dilution in 0.1 mol L −1 HCl as supporting electrolyte (resulting in 30:70% v / v ethanol:water). The linear responses were in the range between 10 and 300 μg L −1 ( R  = 0.999), inter-day precision was lower than 8% ( n  = 10, for 20 μg L −1 ) and limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) using 180 s as deposition time were 0.097 μg L −1 and 0.323 μg L −1 , respectively. Recovery values between 95 and 103% for the analysis of bioethanol spiked with known amounts of copper were obtained. These results show great promise of the application of 3D-printed sensors for the quality control of biofuels. Graphical abstract