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Hydrogel-Based Sensors for Ethanol Detection in Alcoholic Beverages
Jan Erfkamp1, Margarita Guenther2, Gerald Gerlach3
1Solid-State Electronics Laboratory, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany. jan.erfkamp@tu-dresden.de.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 13, 2019
Summary
A novel hydrogel-based sensor accurately measures ethanol concentration in beverages. This alcohol sensor offers high sensitivity and a wide detection range, overcoming limitations of previous methods.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Analytical Chemistry
- Sensor Technology
Background:
- Accurate ethanol determination is crucial for analyzing alcoholic beverages.
- Factors like pH and salt concentration can interfere with ethanol measurements.
- Analytical performance metrics are vital for practical sensor applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a detailed sensor characterization of a novel ethanol sensor.
- To evaluate the sensor's performance based on ethanol-sensitive polyacrylamide hydrogels.
- To assess the influence of environmental factors on sensor accuracy.
Main Methods:
- Development of a novel sensor utilizing ethanol-sensitive polyacrylamide hydrogels.
- Conversion of hydrogel swelling pressure into a measurable output voltage using a piezoresistive pressure sensor.
- Characterization of sensor performance including sensitivity, detection limit, and measurement uncertainty.
Main Results:
- The sensor demonstrates a wide measuring range, up to 50 vol% ethanol and beyond, with high sensitivity.
- Sensor performance remained unaffected by pH variations between 4 and 7.4.
- A low limit of detection (0.06–0.65 vol% ethanol) was achieved, with minimal influence from higher salt concentrations.
- Accurate ethanol concentration determination in a vodka sample was confirmed with acceptable measurement uncertainty.
Conclusions:
- The novel polyacrylamide hydrogel-based sensor provides a fast, reliable, and sensitive method for ethanol determination.
- The sensor exhibits robustness against pH variations and a wide operational range, making it suitable for beverage analysis.
- The sensor's performance characteristics meet the requirements for practical applications in alcoholic beverage analysis.
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