Study of green surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy determination of methanol in alcoholic beverages

There are two main challenges in completing surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection. One is the small Raman scattering cross-section of methanol, and the other is the derivatization strategy. They were solved by coupling the catalytic strategy with a thermal purge separation and enrichment device. In this study, quantitative analysis of methanol in alcoholic beverages was performed as methanol was catalyzed to formaldehyde. For detecting methanol in low-alcohol beverages, the acetaldehyde derivatives generated by the interaction of ethanol-catalyzed oxide acetaldehyde with 3-methyl 2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone hydrochloride hydrate (MBTH) during the catalytic process will not cause large interference with the SERS signal of formaldehyde. In this case, MBTH with higher sensitivity is selected for the derivatization operation. In the analysis of methanol in high-alcohol beverages, acetylacetonate derivatization without interaction with acetaldehyde was used to avoid the interference of the acetaldehyde generated from ethanol. Based on the detection of formaldehyde in methanol standard solutions, methanol was detected in wine and sake as well as in high-alcohol beverages. Thus, a convenient and rapid method was achieved for the detection of methanol in alcoholic beverages.

Automated summary

This study successfully detected methanol in alcoholic beverages by coupling the catalytic strategy with a thermal purge separation and enrichment device. A higher sensitivity MBTH was selected for the derivatization operation in low-alcohol beverages, while acetylacetonate derivatization was used in high-alcohol beverages to avoid interference. This method is convenient and rapid.