Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been studied to a much greater extent than surface-enhanced infrared analysis (SEIRA) because of the significantly greater signal enhancement factor of SERS and its wide variety of substrate choices.  In this study, the feasibility of preparing a versatile substrate amenable to both techniques is investigated in order to optimize the synergistic powers of SERS and SEIRA for identifying trace levels of structurally similar aromatic amines.  The analytes studied include known or suspected carcinogens such as 4-aminobiphenyl, 2-naphthylamine, o-toluidine, as well as melamine derivatives and their respective isomers. The substrate preparation procedures rely on the use of colloidal synthesis and electroless deposition techniques involving gold, silver, and copper. The reliability of correctly identifying the aromatic amines via spectral matching of SERS and SEIRA is evaluated by the Euclidian distance search algorithm and will be compared to the corresponding match indices based on NIST mass spectral library.

Application of surface-enhanced infrared and Raman spectroscopic analysis of aromatic amines

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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