Ultrasensitive room-temperature geranyl acetone detection based on Fe@WO <sub>3− <i>x</i> </sub> nanoparticles in cooked rice flavor analysis
Zichen Zheng, Kewei Liu, Yiwen Zhou, Marc Debliquy, Chao Zhang
Abstract
In the assessment of food quality, geranyl acetone plays a crucial role as a volatile organic compound (VOC) biomarker for diverse agricultural products, while the ultralow concentration detection meeting the application requirements has been barely studied. Herein, Fe-doped WO<sub>3-x</sub> gas sensor was employed for greatly sensitive, selective and scalable detection of geranyl acetone. The results proved that precisely-regulated oxygen vacancy (O<sub>V</sub>) and sophisticatedly-active electron transition of Fe-doped WO<sub>3-x</sub> nanoparticles were fulfilled by modifying the doping amount of Fe<sup>3+</sup>, leading to the prominently enhanced sensitivity (23.47 @ 6 ppm), low limit of detection (237 ppb), optimal selectivity and outstanding long-term stability. Furthermore, the enhancing mechanism of gas sensing performance was substantiated through density functional theory (DFT) calculation while the practical application for the spoiled cooked rice evaluation was conducted as well. This study demonstrates a reliable method for detecting VOC biomarker in cooked rice which can ensure food security and improve the palatability of cooked rice.