Sains Malaysiana 40(1)(2011): 67–70

ZnO Gas Sensor for Testing Vinegar Acid Concentrations

(Penderia Gas ZnO untuk Menentukan Kepekatan Asid dalam Cuka)

N. Al-Hardan*, M.J. Abdullah, A. Abdul Aziz & H. Ahmad

School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia

Received: 7 December 2009 / Accepted: 15 July 2010

ABSTRACT

A ZnO gas sensor was successfully prepared by RF sputtering. The maximum sensitivity of the sensor for vinegar test application was at 400^oC. The ZnO based sensor showed good sensitivity for vinegar test in the concentration range of 4% to 9%. The work reveals the ability of using ZnO gas sensor to determine the acid concentrations of the vinegars for food requirements.

Keywords: Electrical conductivity; gas sensors; ZnO thin films

ABSTRAK

Penderia gas ZnO telah berjaya dihasilkan dengan percikan RF. Kepekaan maksimum penderia untuk penggunaan dalam pengujian cuka ialah pada 400^oC. Penderia berasaskan ZnO menunjukkan kepekaan yang baik untuk pengujian cuka dalam julat kepekatan 4% hingga 9%. Kajian ini menunjukkan keupayaan penderia gas ZnO untuk menentukan kepekatan asid cuka bagi keperluan dalam makanan.

Kata kunci: Kekonduksian elektrik; penderia gas; film nipis ZnO

REFERENCES

Al-Hardan, N., Abdullah M.J. & Aziz A.A. 2009. The gas response enhancement from ZnO film for H₂ gas detection. Applied Surface Science 255: 7794-7797.

Castro, R., Moreno M., Natera R., García-Rowe F., Hernández M. & Barroso C. 2002. Comparative analysis of the organic acid content of vinegar by capillary electrophoresis and ion-exclusion chromatography with conductimetric detection. Chromatographia 56: 57-61.

Funazaki, N., Hemmi A., Ito S., Asano Y., Yano Y., Miura N. & Yamazoe N. 1995. Application of semiconductor gas sensor to quality control of meat freshness in food industry. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 25: 797-800.

Hellegouarc’h, F., Arefi-Khonsari F., Planade R. & Amouroux J. 2001. PECVD prepared SnO₂ thin films for ethanol sensors. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 73: 27-34.

Jagadish, C. & Pearton S. (Eds). 2006. Zinc oxide bulk, thin films and nanostructures. Processing, Properties, and Applications, London: Elsevier.

Johnston, C.S. & Gaas C.A. 2006. Vinegar: Medicinal uses and antiglycemic effect. MedGenMed. 8: 61.

Kim, Y.S., Ha S.-C., Yang H. & Kim Y.T. 2007. Gas sensor measurement system capable of sampling volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in wide concentration range. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 122: 211-218.

Lenghor, N., Jakmunee J., Vilen M., Sara R., Christian G.D. & Grudpan K. 2002. Sequential injection redox or acid-base titration for determination of ascorbic acid or acetic acid. Talanta 58: 1139-1144.

Morkoç, H. & Ozgur U. 2009. Zinc oxide. Fundamentals, Materials and Device Technology. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH.

Moros, J., Iñón F. A., Garrigues S. & de la Guardia M. 2008. Determination of vinegar acidity by attenuated total reflectance infrared measurements through the use of second-order absorbance-pH matrices and parallel factor analysis. Talanta 74: 632-641.

Steine, C., Beaucousin F., Siv C. & Peiffer G. 2001. Potential of semiconductor sensor arrays for the origin authentication of pure valencia orange juices. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 49: 3151-3160.

Xiaobo, Z., Jiewen Z., Shouyi W. & Xingyi H. 2003. Vinegar classification based on feature extraction and selection from tin oxide gas sensor array data. Sensors 3: 101-109.

*Corresponding author; email: naif.zd06@student.usm.my