Introducing molecular selectivity in rapid impedimetric sensing of phthalates

This research article reports a real-time and non-invasive detection technique for phthalates in liquids by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), incorporating molecular imprinting technique to introduce selectivity for the phthalate molecule in the detection system. A functional polymer with Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) template was immobilized on the sensing surface of the inter-digital (ID) capacitive sensor with sputtered gold sensing electrodes fabricated over a native layer of silicon dioxide on a single crystal silicon substrate. Various concentrations (10 to 200 ppm) of DEHP in deionized MilliQ water were exposed to the sensor surface functionalized with molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) in order to capture the analyte molecule, hence introducing molecular selectivity to the testing system. Impedance spectra were obtained using EIS in order to determine sample conductance for evaluation of phthalate concentration in the solution. Electrochemical Spectrum Analyzer algorithm was used to deduce equivalent circuit and equivalent component parameters from the experimentally obtained impedance spectra employing Randle's cell model curve fitting technique. Experimental results confirmed that the immobilization of the functional polymer on sensing surface introduces selectivity for phthalates in the sensing system. The results were validated by testing the samples using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC-DAD).