(Keynote) Rapid Detection of Small Molecule Pollutants by Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy with Nanostructure Array
Authors: Meng Guowen , Tang Haibin 
Published: July 2021

Toxic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, organic pesticide, food additives, plasticizer and dyes have been producing increasing harm to the environment and human health. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy is a powerful method for sensing these small molecule pollutants for the advantages of fast response, high sensitivity and fingerprint effect.1 The crucial technique is to design and fabricate uniform and highly sensitive SERS substrates with high affinity to the analytes. Patterned templates, such as anodic aluminum oxide (AAO), polystyrene nanosphere array and lithographic templates were used to fabricate uniform metal nanostructure array.2-5 Meanwhile, the combination of electromagnetic enhancement from metal nanostructures and chemical enhancement from semiconductors or graphene was used to improve the detection limit.6-8 On the other hand, strategies such as surface functionalization of metal nanostructures by decanethiol or cyclodextrin based on the “like dissolves like” principle,9,10 physical trapping mechanism based on the electrostatic attraction, and mechanical limitation based on temperature or humidity-sensitive materials were used to capture more analytes to the surface of the SERS substrate.11-14 For practical application, simple sensors and devices were designed to detect the harmful food additives in the milk or pesticide residue on the surface of orange or in juice.15-17

Figure 1. Highly sensitive SERS substrates and prototype devices. (a) Ag nanorods array with tunable gaps (hot spots) fabricated by AAO template [Ref 9]. (b) Decoration of cyclodextrin to improve the affinity to polychlorinated biphenyls [Ref 9]. (c) Ordered Ag nanorod bundles with highly efficient hot spots [Ref 5]. (d) A pipet-like SERS sensor for detection of melamine in milk [Ref 17]. (e) A cut-and-paste SERS substrate (flexible transparent Ag-nanocube@ polyethylene film) for rapid in situ detection of pesticide residue on the surface of orange [Ref 15].

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Figure 1