Influence of electrochemical deposition parameters on the performance of poly-3-methyl thiophene and polyaniline sensors for virgin olive oils

In this work, a series of sensors, based on poly-3-methylthiophene and polyaniline which aim to discriminate between olive oils, are prepared using different electrochemical techniques (chronoamperometry (CA), chronopotentiometry (CP) and cyclic voltammetry) and under different electrochemical conditions (polymerisation potential, polymerisation time, polymerisation intensity, doping agent and type of substrate). The influence of the deposition parameters on the performance of the sensors is tested by studying the response of the sensors to VOCs typically present in the headspace of olive oils and to olive oil samples of different qualities. The results show that the electrodeposition conditions strongly affect the resistance, response and stability of the polymeric sensors and highlight the importance of using the appropriate sensors for each particular application.