Rapid Determination of Ethyl Alcohol in Alcoholic Beverages Using a Fluorescent Nanofiber Film

Abstract

Electrospinning has been recognized as a simple, versatile, and viable technique to fabricate ultrathin nanofibers from various materials, e.g., polymers and composites, in aqueous solutions. In this study, we used polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a substrate to synthesize nanofibers by using an electric field between the syringe needle and PVA. The nanofibers demonstrate an immense potential for developing fluorescent detection system of ethyl alcohol from several types of beverages due to their special characteristics of a simple, albeit useful, and effective top-down fabrication process. The development of nanofibers, a fundamental understanding of electrospinning, and properties of the nanofibers, as well as their applications to determine the alcohol content in beverages by direct injection into the fiber surface, were described. This method was accomplished using a PVA nanofiber scaffold as the immobilized sensing film in samples of wine, beer, or some alcohol beverages. Various beverages were tested, which were found to contain low alcohol concentrations. The optical properties of nanofibers in an aqueous PVA solution were observed by fluorescence spectra. The PVA nanofiber films could be useful for detecting the alcohol upto 1.0vol% in a real sample within several seconds. Details of the type of electrospun fibers, and their characteristics were also explained. This study should serve as a guiding tool for nanoscience researchers in fibers, textiles, food validations, and polymer fields.