Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) is a powerful technique for ultra-sensitive detection of organic molecules. Recently, the nobel metal-semiconductor composites have attracted extensive attention in the development of SERS substrate due to their excellent sensitivity and low cost. In this study, a porous nanocomposite SERS substrate (ZnO/Au/L-cys) was fabricated for ultrasensitive, stable and low-cost sensing of organic pollutants. The ZnO/Au/L-cys nanocomposites were one-pot hydrothermally synthesized by adding L-cysteine and gold nanoparticles during the synthesis of ZnO. Due to the regulating effect of L-cysteine, the morphology of the composite changed from a smooth sheet stack to a porous structure. Due to the high specific surface and light “echo effect” (multiple reflections of light in porous structure), the porous ZnO/Au/L-cys displayed 40 times higher SERS sensitivity than that of smooth sheet (ZnO/Au) in the detection of rhodamine 6G. Beside the lower limit of detection (10-11 M), the porous ZnO/Au/L-cys also possessed the photocatalytic capability which can further degrade R6G under the illumination of UV light. Finally, the porous ZnO/Au/L-cys was used as a SERS substrate for the detection of crystal violet and methylene blue in real river samples which displayed excellent detection sensitivity and reusability.

L-cysteine assisted synthesis of porous nanocomposites as an ultrasensitive SERS substrate for organic pollutants detection

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.