DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Development of a Polyurethane-Based Ion Selective Sensor for Lithium-Ion Measurement and Comparison Study with a Polyvinyl Chloride-Based Sensor

리튬 이온 측정을 위한 Polyurethane 기반 이온선택성 센서의 개발 및 Polyvinyl Chloride 기반 센서와의 성능 비교

  • Su Bin Yun (Department of Chemical Engineering, Kangwon National University) ;
  • Ju Ha Park (Department of Chemical Engineering, Kangwon National University) ;
  • Kyoung G. Lee (Center for Nano Bio Development, National Nanofab Center) ;
  • Bong Gill Choi (Department of Chemical Engineering, Kangwon National University)
  • 윤수빈 (강원대학교(삼척캠퍼스) 에너지화학공학과) ;
  • 박주하 (강원대학교(삼척캠퍼스) 에너지화학공학과) ;
  • 이경균 (나노종합기술원 나노바이오센터) ;
  • 최봉길 (강원대학교(삼척캠퍼스) 에너지화학공학과)
  • Received : 2025.08.25
  • Accepted : 2025.09.09
  • Published : 2025.10.10

Abstract

In this study, we fabricated a solid-contact lithium sensor using a two-electrode system consisting of a nanopillar-structured working electrode and an Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The polyurethane (PU)-based sensor, prepared without plasticizer, exhibited a high sensitivity of 60.80 mV/dec. In contrast, the polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-based sensor showed no significant response under the same conditions as the PU-based sensor. Combined mechanical and electrochemical tests revealed that the PU-based sensor retained its sensor performance. In addition, the PU sensor, compared to the PVC sensor, exhibited superior selectivity for lithium-ion detection against other interfering ions. The resulting PU sensor accurately detects lithium-ion concentration with less than 1% error in simulated wastewater and brine environments.

본 연구에서는 나노기둥(nanopillar) 구조의 작동 전극과 Ag/AgCl 기준 전극으로 구성된 2전극 시스템 기반의 고체접촉형 리튬 센서를 제작하였다. 가소제를 첨가하지 않고 제조한 polyurethane (PU) 센서는 60.80 mV/dec의 높은 민감도를 나타내었다. 이와 대조적으로, 동일 조건의 polyvinyl chloride (PVC) 센서는 낮은 민감도를 나타내었다. 이후 해당 PU 센서를 반복 굽힘과 전기화학적 성능 시험 평가 결과, 센서의 성능 저하 없이 기계적 안정성이 유지되었다. PU 센서는 리튬이온 선택도에서도 PVC 센서보다 우수한 특성을 보여주었다. PU 센서를 이용하여 폐수 및 염수 모사 환경에서 1% 이내의 오차로 리튬을 정밀하게 감지하였다.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by Nano Open Innovation Lab Cooperation Project of NNFC in 2025.

References

  1. J. Qian, W. A. Henderson, W. Xu, P. Bhattacharya, M. Engelhard, O. Borodin, and J.-G. Zhang, High rate and stable cycling of lithium metal anode, Nat. Commun., 6, 6362 (2015).
  2. J. Xie and Y.-C. Lu, A retrospective on lithium-ion batteries, Nat. Commun., 11, 2499 (2020).
  3. Y. Ghorbani, S. E. Zhang, J. E. Bourdeau, N. S. Chipangamate, D. H. Rose, I. Valodia, and G. T. Nwaila, The strategic role of lithium in the green energy transition: Towards an OPEC-style framework for green energy-mineral exporting countries (GEMEC), Resour. Policy, 90, 104737 (2024).
  4. Y. Wu, Q. Yuan, M. Yang, M. Zhai, G. Hu, and Y. Gu, Impact of circular economy on the long-term allocation structure of primary and secondary lithium, Commun. Earth Environ., 5, 503 (2024).
  5. H. Hao, Z. Liu, F. Zhao, Y. Geng, and J. Sarkis, Material flow analysis of lithium in China, Resour. Policy, 51, 100-106 (2017).
  6. S. Kim, J. Kim, S. Kim, J. Lee, and J. Yoon, Electrochemical lithium recovery and organic pollutant removal from industrial wastewater of a battery recycling plant, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 4, 175-182 (2018).
  7. Z. A. Sandhu, B. Iqbal, M. A. Raza, Kainat, S. Ashraf, U. Farwa, A. Ashraf, A. Arishi, and T. Rasheed, Green revolution of lithium-ion batteries: Prospects, challenges and environmental impact, Chem. Asian J., 20, e00299 (2025).
  8. D. K. Gupta, A. Iyer, A. Mitra, S. Chatterjee, and S. Murugan, From power to plants: unveiling the environmental footprint of lithium batteries, Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., 31, 26343-26354 (2024).
  9. L. Zheng, G. Chen, B. Wen, and W. Bao, Analysis of lithium demand for electric vehicles from supply and demand perspectives under China's carbon peak and neutrality goals, Waste Manag., 202, 114822 (2025).
  10. S. Jia, W. Meng, and S. Li, Risks of mineral resources in the supply of renewable energy batteries, Sci. Rep., 15, 10142 (2025).
  11. C. Zhao, M. He, H. Cao, X. Zheng, W. Gao, Y. Sun, H. Zhao, D. Liu, Y. Zhang, and Z. Sun, Investigation of solution chemistry to enable efficient lithium recovery from low-concentration lithium-containing wastewater, Front. Chem. Sci. Eng., 14, 639-650 (2020).
  12. B. Zhang, Q. Xin, S. Chen, B. Wang, H. Li, Z. Wang, and P. Bansal, Lithium-ion battery recycling relieves the threat to material scarcity amid China's electric vehicle ambitions, Nat. Commun., 16, 6661 (2025).
  13. J. Dunn, A. Kendall, and M. Slattery, Electric vehicle lithium-ion battery recycled content standards for the US – targets, costs, and environmental impacts, Resour. Conserv. Recycl., 185, 106488 (2022).
  14. M. Vaccari, F. Parlanti, F. M. Manni, M. Orefice, F. Mathieux, G. Pannocchia, L. Tognotti, and A. Bertei, Assessing performance in lithium-ion batteries recycling processes: A quantitative modeling perspective, Resour. Conserv. Recycl., 206, 107643 (2024).
  15. S. Jeong, H. Jeong, C. Park, B. Gu, and S. Jeong, Effective lithium recovery from battery wastewater via nanofiltration and membrane distillation crystallization with carbon nanotube spacer, Chem. Eng. J., 503, 158315 (2025).
  16. I. F. Seregina, M. A. Bolshov, and K. Ossipov, Elimination of the non-spectral matrix interferences in the analysis of bio-liquids by mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma, Spectrochim. Acta B, 177, 106034 (2021).
  17. J. Jaglan, S. Jaglan, P. Jaglan, and A. Jaglan, Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy based toxicological risk assessment of cadmium and lead in Tinospora cordifolia, Pharm. Res. Mod. Chin. Med., 7, 100246 (2023).
  18. Y. Kim, M. Seo, and S. Baek, Ion-selective electrode-based sensors from the macro- to the nanoscale, Sens. Actuators Rep., 9, 100258 (2025).
  19. H.-B. Choi, J.-S. Ryu, W.-J. Shin, and N. Vigier, The impact of anthropogenic inputs on lithium content in river and tap water, Nat. Commun., 10, 5371 (2019).
  20. J. H. Park, S. B. Yun, K. G. Lee, and B. G. Choi, Fabrication of potentiometric lithium ion sensor using nanopillar array film and its electrochemical characterization, Appl. Chem. Eng., 36, 180-185 (2025).
  21. R. Cánovas, S. Padrell Sánchez, M. Parrilla, M. Cuartero, and G. A. Crespo, Cytotoxicity study of ionophore-based membranes: Toward on-body and in vivo ion sensing, ACS Sens., 4, 2524-2535 (2019).
  22. S. Osaki, K. Kitamura, T. Kintoki, T. Morinuchi-Kawakami, and S. Wakida, Investigation of drift in polyurethane matrices for salivary nitrate ion-selective field-effect transistors, Sens. Mater., 34, 4209-4222 (2022).
  23. T. Wang, Z. Xu, Y. Huang, Z. Dai, X. Wang, M. Lee, C. Bagtzoglou, C. Brückner, Y. Lei, and B. Li, Real-time in situ auto-correction of K+ interference for continuous and long-term NH4+ monitoring in wastewater using solid-state ion selective membrane (S-ISM) sensor assembly, Environ. Res., 189, 109891 (2020).
  24. Y. M. Park, S. Y. Lim, S. W. Jeong, Y. Song, N. H. Bae, S. B. Hong, B. G. Choi, S. J. Lee, and K. G. Lee, Flexible nanopillar-based electrochemical sensors for genetic detection of foodborne pathogens, Nano Converg., 5, 15 (2018).
  25. Y. Huang, M. A. Afolabi, L. Gan, S. Liu, and Y. Chen, MXene-coated ion-selective electrode sensors for highly stable and selective lithium dynamics monitoring, Environ. Sci. Technol., 58, 1359-1368 (2024).
  26. C.-A. Cho and S.-M. Park, Comparative studies on ammonium ion selective electrodes using poly(vinyl chloride) and polyurethane as substrate matrix materials, J. Korean Electrochem. Soc., 7, 148-154 (2004).
  27. Y. Zhou, R. Liang, and W. Qin, Facile fabrication of anti-fouling polymeric membrane potentiometric ion sensors based on a biocide 4, 5-dichloro-2-n-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one-containing self-adhesive waterborne polyurethane coating, Analyst, 150, 1103-1111 (2025).
  28. S. Mallakpour and E. Shafiee, The synthesis of poly(vinyl chloride) nanocomposite films containing ZrO2 nanoparticles modified with vitamin B1 with the aim of improving the mechanical, thermal and optical properties, Des. Monomers Polym., 20, 378-388 (2017).
  29. S. Caddeo, F. Baino, A. M. Ferreira, S. Sartori, G. Novajra, G. Ciardelli, and C. Vitale-Brovarone, Collagen/polyurethane-coated bioactive glass: Early achievements towards the modelling of healthy and osteoporotic bone, Key Eng. Mater., 631, 184-189 (2015).
  30. M. R. Awual, M. Ismael, and T. Yaita, Efficient detection and extraction of cobalt(II) from lithium ion batteries and wastewater by novel composite adsorbent, Sens. Actuators B, 191, 9-18 (2014).