Plastic Chip Electrodes Challenge – India

Deadline: 17 December 2023

The Plastic Chip Electrodes (PCEs) Challenge invites startups, innovators, academia, and industries to harness the unique properties of PCEs for diverse applications.

PCEs are expected to be at least 100 times cheaper compared to existing products having similar applications. This uniqueness and cost advantage offers a big opportunity, if the feasibility of PCEs can be established through common use cases. The challenge encourages innovative uses of PCEs, promoting entrepreneurial initiatives, by engaging with PCEs, participants can pioneer transformative technologies with far-reaching impacts.

Plastic chip electrodes have the potential to revolutionize fields such as electrocatalysis (green hydrogen/ green synthesis), energy storage, sensing, pollution mitigation (dye degradation) etc. due to their non-corrosiveness, simple handling of surface chemistry, lightweight nature, flexibility, and cost effectiveness. The PCE with conductivity in the range of 25-30 mS/cm & thermally stable till 350° Celsius, the polymer is biodegradable & stable at all pH ranges. They encourage and call for application to use Plastic chip electrodes on following themes.

Themes

Electrochemical sensing: 
- PCEs based wearable devices.
- PCE’s based pH & NPK sensing of soil.
- PCE’s for H2S & NH3 like toxic gas sensing.
- Functionalization of PCE’s for non-invasive health monitoring or early-stage disease (of your choice) detection.
Electrocatalysis: 
- Water electrolysis for green hydrogen production.
- Fuel Cell.
- Toxic chemical degradation with electrocatalysis.
- Industrial electrosynthesis.
- Recovery of precious metals from the wastewater from the jewellery industry.
Electroplating:
- Copper electroplating.
- Chromium electroplating.
- Gold electroplating.
- And theoretically any transition metals.
Others: In this theme if any other integration of Plastic chip electrode can be proposed, for example PCE in BCI application to enhance interface.
The opportunity for researchers, industries & students to establish Plastic chip electrode-based solutions and/or innovations to initiate entrepreneurial journey.