SnO2-TiO2 and SnO2-MoO3 Based Composite Gas Sensors to Develop an E-nose for Peruvian Pisco Varieties Differentiation

Abstract

There is great interest in the development of a simple system that could identify adulteration or counterfeiting of Peruvian Pisco (a grape-based alcoholic drink). In this study, sensors based on SnO2-TiO2 and SnO2-MoO3 composites with different weight composition ratios were synthesized and characterized. These sensors were tested with aqueous solutions of EtOH/MeOH and Pisco samples of Italia and Quebranta varieties in order to explore their capacity to identify variations in these beverages. The response profile of the most sensitive sensors showed an enhanced response to alcoholic samples with greater content of ethanol up to a concentration of 45%v/v, while the increased content of methanol in the range of 0.1 to 0.3% v/v diminished the intensity of the sensor response. Differences in the composition of methanol and ethanol in the Pisco varieties studied (Italia and Quebranta) were correlated to the capacity of the composite-based sensors to differentiate them with greater performance. Sensors based on SnO2-TiO2-1/2 composites showed greater reproducibility in their response profile over time in comparison to SnO2-TiO2-1/1 and SnO2-MoO3 composites. The PCA showed that composite sensors were able to differentiate Pisco samples according to the varieties, Italia and Quebranta.