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Study of the elemental composition of wine stoppers using PIXE
Author(s) -
Santos Carla Eliete Iochims dos,
Debastiani Rafaela,
Przybylowicz Wojciech,
Manfroi Vitor,
Amaral Lívio,
Yoneama Maria Lúcia,
Dias Johnny Ferraz
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
x‐ray spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.447
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1097-4539
pISSN - 0049-8246
DOI - 10.1002/xrs.2451
Subject(s) - cork , elemental analysis , wine , particle (ecology) , composition (language) , chemistry , chemical composition , mineralogy , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , art , geology , engineering , biochemistry , oceanography , food science , literature
Analysis of stoppers has been restricted mostly to the determination of organic compounds and microorganisms, but none of these studies aimed at the mineral contents of stoppers. Therefore, the aim of this work is to determine the elemental concentration of cork and synthetic stoppers. Wine, cork, and synthetic stoppers were analyzed through the particle‐induced X‐ray emission and micro‐particle‐induced X‐ray emission techniques. The analysis of the internal and external layers of cork and synthetic stoppers showed striking differences in their elemental composition and concentrations and depend on the nature of the stopper. For instance, Si, S, K, and Ca have higher concentrations in the external layer than in the inner portion of the stoppers. Moreover, our results show that elements are not distributed homogeneously throughout the surface of cork stoppers. This study provides, for the first time, data on the elemental composition of different stoppers, which could serve as a database for future research in this field. Finally, it is important to mention that wine and stoppers were analyzed with the same technique, which allows a straightforward comparison between them. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.