Polymer based wicking structures were fabricated by sintering powders of polycarbonate (PC), ultra-high molecular
weight polyethylene and polyamide 12, aiming at selecting a suitable material for an innovative electroencephalography
(EEG) bio-electrode. Preliminary experiments showed that PC based wicks displayed the best
mechanical properties, therefore more detailed studies were carried out with PC to evaluate the influence of
powder granulometry and processing parameters (pressure, temperature and time) on the mechanical properties,
porosity, mean pore radius and permeability of the wicks. It was concluded that the mechanical properties
are significantly enhanced by increasing the processing time and pressure, although at the expense of a signifi-
cant decrease of porosity and mean pore diameter (and thus permeability), particularly for the highest applied
pressures (74 kPa). However, a good compromise between porosity/permeability and mechanical properties
could be obtained by sintering PC powders of particle sizes below 500 μm at 165 °C for 5 min, upon an applied
pressure of 56 kPa. Moreover, PC proved to be chemically stable in contact with an EEG common used disinfectant.
Thus, wicking structures with appropriate properties for the fabrication of reusable bio-electrodes could be
fabricated from the sintering of PC powders.