Intercalation Compounds as Inner Reference Electrodes for Reproducible and Robust Solid‐Contact Ion‐Selective Electrodes

Abstract With billions of assays performed every year, ion‐selective electrodes (ISEs) provide a simple and fast technique for clinical analysis of blood electrolytes. The development of cheap, miniaturized solid‐contact (SC‐)ISEs for integrated systems, however, remains a difficult balancing act between size, robustness, and reproducibility, because the defined interface potentials between the ion‐selective membrane and the inner reference electrode (iRE) are often compromised. We demonstrate that target cation‐sensitive intercalation compounds, such as partially charged lithium iron phosphate (LFP), can be applied as iREs of the quasi‐first kind for ISEs. The symmetrical response of the interface potentials towards target cations ultimately results in ISEs with high robustness towards the inner filling (ca. 5 mV dec −1 conc.) as well as robust and miniaturized SC‐ISEs. They have a predictable and stable potential derived from the LiFePO 4 /FePO 4 redox couple (97.0±1.5 mV after 42 days).