Electrochemical amperometric sensors require a constant or varying potential at the working electrode that drives redox reactions of the analyte for detection. The interfacial redox reaction(s) can result in the formation of new chemical products that could change the initial condition of the electrode/electrolyte interface. If the products are not inert and/or cannot be removed from the system such that the initial condition of the electrode/electrolyte interface cannot be restored, the sensor signal baseline would consequently drift, which is problematic for the continuous and real-time sensors. By setting the electrode potential with the periodical ON-OFF mode, electrolysis can be forestalled during the off mode which can minimize the sensor signal baseline drift and reduce the power consumption of the sensor. However, it is known that the relaxation of the structure in the electrical double layer at the ionic liquid/electrode interface to the steps of the electrode potential is slow. This work characterized the electrode/electrolyte interfacial relaxation process of an ionic liquid based electrochemical gas (IL-EG) sensor by performing multiple potential step experiments in which the potential is stepped from an open circuit potential (OCP) to the amperometric sensing potential at various frequencies with different time periods. Our results showed that by shortening the sensing period as well as extending the idle period (i.e., enlarge the ratio of idle period versus sensing period) of the potential step experiments, the electrode/electrolyte interface is prone to relax to its original state, and thus reduces the baseline drift. Additionally, the high viscosity of the ionic liquids is beneficial for electrochemical regeneration via the implementation of a conditioning step at zero volts at the electrode/electrolyte. By setting the working electrode at zero volts instead of OCP, our results showed that it could further minimize the baseline drift, enhance the sensing signal stability, and extend the functioning lifetime of a continuous IL-EG oxygen sensor.
Keywords: amperometric sensor; electric double layer; interfacial relaxation; ionic liquids; oxygen sensor.