Fabrication of biocompatible and conductive polypropylene micromembrane as a soft and porous electrode

•A biomimic approach for metallized membrane.•PDA/PVA as adhesive, wetting, and reducing agent.•Au-coated PP membrane as a soft electrode.•Conductive membrane for electrochemical sensing. We adopt a biomimic approach to fabricate a biocompatible and conductive polypropylene micromembrane (PPMM). It usefulness as a soft electrode is validated via its large electrochemical active surface area for in-vivo and in-vitro glucose sensing. We conduct the conformal coating of Au on polypropylene (PP) fibers of PPMM using polydopamine (PDA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the adhesive, wetting, and reducing agent, simultaneously. The uniform coverage of PDA/PVA on individual PP fibers of PPMM renders the latter to be hydrophilic for subsequent electroless Au deposition in thickness of 150 nm encapsulating every single PP fiber. Findings The metalized PPMM exhibits impressive conductivity in both X (10.04 S/cm) and Z (1.23 × 10−2 S/cm) directions. In addition, its tensile strength and strain are similar to those of pristine PPMM. After 10,000 bending cycles, the metalized PPMM reveals negligible physical delamination. Thermogravimetric analysis shows a thermal stability of 400 °C and an effective Au loading of 5.32 mg/cm2. Electrochemical analysis indicates a large electrochemical active surface area with for enhanced glucose sensing performance. Our strategy of using the PDA/PVA for their multifunctional roles could be adopted to fabricate alternative conductive polymer membranes for many possible applications. [Display omitted]