Electrospun mats composed of amidoximated polyacrylonitrile for molecular isolation coupled with gold nanostar deposition for enhancement in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful platform for the detection of uranyl from complex sample matrices. Herein, impacts of gold nanostar deposition on the SERS detection of uranyl are evaluated as a function of deposition method and spatial uniformity. Nanostar distribution on the mats is evaluated using localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectroscopy and bright field image color analysis while uranyl uptake is evaluated using SERS. Non-linear effects are noted spatially and related to local plasmonic properties of the nanostars, mat morphology, and uranyl concentration. Under optimal conditions, SERS signals of uranyl is dependent solely on uranyl uptake thus promoting the quantitative detection of uranyl on the polymer mats using gold nanostars. All in all, these findings are expected to serve as a quick, reliable, and reproducible platform for the detection of uranyl in the lab and field.

Optical evaluation of gold nanostars on polymer mats for uranyl detection

256th National Meeting (2018)

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