Volume: 5, 2026
5th International PhD Students’ Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: T008
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL5.T008
Published online: 22 April 2026
Electrochemical deposition of conducting polymers: optimization of electrolyte composition and its influence on the intermediate layer properties
Klaudia Morawska* and Cecylia Wardak
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, 3 Maria Skłodowska-Curie Sq., 20-031 Lublin, Poland
* Corresponding author: klaudia.morawska@mail.umcs.pl
Ion-selective electrodes are fairly common and simple analytical tools – especially the solid-contact type. They are electrodes without an internal electrolyte; therefore, they lack a conductive medium as well as a buffer solution that would supplement and enhance electron-ion conductivity. Carbon materials, metal nanoparticles and their oxides, composite and hybrid materials, ionic liquids, and conductive polymers are often used as such materials. Among the most commonly used polymers are polyaniline, polypyrrole, polyoctylthiophene, and their various configurations. In our work, the aforementioned conductive polymers were also used as the intermediate layer, which served as the transducer medium. We used polymers that are derivatives of pyrimidine. These polymers are deposited electrochemically using cyclic voltammetry.
The process takes place under positive potential conditions (which prevents errors caused by oxygen reduction at negative potential values) in the range of 0–1.45 V. The process was conducted over 10 cycles at a scan rate of 50 mV·s−1. In order to achieve the most effective parameters of the potentiometric sensor, the composition of the initial electrolyte was optimized in this study. For this purpose, four different salts were tested: tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, tetraoctylammonium chloride, and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride. The chloride salts were unsuitable for this purpose, as no proportional polymer growth was observed during the deposition process (the layer did not form). In the case of salts derived from hexafluorophosphates, a pyrimidine polymer layer was successfully deposited. A membrane cocktail containing valinomycin, a potassium ionophore, was applied to the resulting layer. Basic studies were conducted to verify the effectiveness of using specific salts. The electrodes were characterized, their reversibility and stability were assessed, and it was evaluated whether the tested electrode was prone to forming a water layer. The best was tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate – we achieved the highest slope (59.1 mV·dec−1), the lowest limit of detection (1.1×10−6 M) and the highest potential stability (0.1 mV·h−1).
Keywords: conducting polymers; electrochemical deposition; electrolyte; intermediate layer
How to cite
Morawska K., Wardak C., 2026. Electrochemical deposition of conducting polymers: optimization of electrolyte composition and its influence on the intermediate layer properties. In: 5th International PhD Students’ Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL5.T008