Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42440341›Full record

ArticleACS applied materials & interfaces2026

Screen-Printed Biochar-Derived Graphene Solid-Contact Ion-Selective Electrodes for Nutrient Monitoring in Hydroponic Solutions.

Gustavo L Milião, Janan Hui, Raquel R A Soares, Haoyang You, Kayla Vittore, Cicero C Pola, Ethan H Leung, DoKyoung Lee, Stuart J Rowan, Carmen L Gomes and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ACS applied materials & interfaces, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Gustavo L MiliãoDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa50011, United States.
Janan HuiDepartment of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois60208, United States.
Raquel R A SoaresDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa50011, United States.
Haoyang YouDepartment of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois60637, United States.
Kayla VittoreDepartment of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois61801, United States.
Cicero C PolaDepartment of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa50011, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-6141-9698
Ethan H LeungDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa50011, United States.
DoKyoung LeeDepartment of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois61801, United States.
Stuart J RowanDepartment of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois60637, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-8176-0594
Carmen L GomesDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa50011, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-0095-6478
Mark C HersamDepartment of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois60208, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-4120-1426
Jonathan C ClaussenDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa50011, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-7065-1077

Funding

Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation CMMI-2037026Iowa State University NANational Institute of Food and Agriculture 2026-67021-45764
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Scalable manufacturing of graphene-based solid-contact ion-selective electrodes (SC-ISEs) is constrained by reliance on mined graphite and on patterning methods that are costly, energy-intensive, or poorly suited to high-throughput production. Here, we present a sustainable, manufacturing-ready approach in which graphene derived from hardwood biochar is formulated into printable inks and patterned by high-throughput screen printing to produce bioderived graphene solid-contact ion-selective electrodes (BioG-SC-ISEs). Unlike prior biomass-derived electrodes based on amorphous or activated carbons, this work demonstrates the conversion of biochar into graphene-like nanosheets compatible with scalable printing. By functionalizing the screen-printed electrodes with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)-based ion-selective membranes doped with distinct ionophores, we produced sensors capable of selectively monitoring six plant nutrients (K+, Na+, NH4+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and NO3-). The resulting sensors exhibited near-Nernstian sensitivities with detection limits between 0.064 and 0.526 mg·L-1 with wide sensing ranges (10-6 to 10-1 M for monovalent ions, 10-5 to 10-1 M for Mg2+, and 10-5 to 10-2 M for Ca2+). As an application-relevant demonstration, K+ BioG-SC-ISEs tracked progressive potassium depletion across modified Hoagland formulations (100%, 50%, and 25% K+), achieving a sensitivity of 57.4 ± 0.7 mV·dec-1 and a detection limit nearly three orders of magnitude below typical hydroponic potassium levels, with measurements in close agreement with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Overall, this work establishes a sustainable strategy for scalable SC-ISE manufacturing and provides a versatile platform for high-performance ion sensing with direct implications for hydroponic agriculture, environmental monitoring, and other electrochemical sensing applications requiring selective ion detection.

Indexed as

CharcoalGraphiteHydroponicsIon-Selective ElectrodesNutrientsElectrodesPolyvinyl ChlorideSolutionsbiocharCharcoalGraphitePolyvinyl ChlorideSolutionsbioderived graphenehydroponic nutrient monitoringpotentiometric sensingscreen printingsolid-contact ion-selective electrodessustainable materials

Identifiers

PMID42440341
PMCPMC13425557

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.