Microporous Ag/AgCl on a Titanium Scaffold for Use in Capillary Reference Electrodes

AgCl-coated silver fabricated with the thermal-electrolytic method can be used to prepare more reproducible reference electrodes than Ag/AgCl prepared with alternative methods such as electrolytic and chemical AgCl deposition or thermal fabrication. However, thermal-electrolytic fabrication requires a scaffold material upon which to build the layers upon. Platinum and rhodium have been used for this purpose as they are mechanically strong and chemically inert, but their cost is prohibitive for wider application. Herein, we report the stability of Ag/AgCl reference electrodes built atop a titanium scaffold using the thermal-electrolytic method and the use of these Ti/Ag/AgCl constructs in capillary-based reference electrodes. Electrochemical characterization shows that the probable presence of small amounts of oxygen at the Ti/Ag interface does not affect the reference electrode performance; in particular, over a wide pH range, the half-cell potential is pH independent. The electrical resistance of the Ti/Ag/AgCl/KCl system is dominated by the charge transfer resistance at the interface of the AgCl to KCl solution but is kept very small by the large AgCl surface area and a high solution concentration of chloride. The resulting high exchange current minimizes the effect of system impurities on the reference half-cell potential. Capillary-based reference electrodes comprising Ti/Ag/AgCl show exceptionally low potential drifts (as low as 0.03 ± 2.01 μV/h) and standard deviations of the potential at or below ±0.5 mV over a 60 h period. These capillary-based reference electrodes are suitable for very small sample volumes while still providing a free-flowing liquid junction that prevents reference electrode contamination.