A novel controllable nanocyclic plasma coupled array in SERS trace detection of multi-component pollutants

• Published in: Spectrochimica acta. Part A, Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy, 2025-02, Vol.326, p.125271, Article 125271
• Main Authors: Ding, Xuanyang, Ling, Zhuangzhuang, Fang, Jinghuai, Cheng, Mingfei, Wu, Jing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1386-1425
• DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2024.125271

A new type of SERS hot spot structure with large area uniform circular-ring-shaped nanogaps has been successfully used for highly sensitive detection and analysis of multi-component pollutants. [Display omitted] •Uniform annular micro-nano structures were prepared by template-assisted method combined with rotating deposition.•Circular-ring-shaped nanogaps has been confirmed as active SERS hot spot nanostructure.•The new type of SERS hot spot can be used for highly sensitive detection and analysis of multi-component pollutants.•The as-prepared substrate shows good SERS stability (with RSD of 6.73%) and recyclable features. The development and design of a novel, uniform and highly active local electromagnetic field enhanced structure is crucial for expanding Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) applications. In this study, we developed Ag ring-coupled nanoarrays (Ag RCNAs) with controllable nanogaps using a substrate rotary evaporation coating technique with self-assembled polystyrene (PS) microspheres as templates. This straightforward and cost-effective method efficiently prepares plasma-coupled nanoarrays. Ag RCNAs demonstrated high sensitivity in detecting organic dyes, our prepared Ag RCNAs showed high sensitivity (with the limit of detection of 10−8 M), high signal reproducibility (with the relative standard deviation of 6.73 %). Furthermore, Ag RCNAs showed remarkable sensitivity to a broad spectrum of dyes in river water, indicating the large-area uniform and highly active circular-ring-shaped nanogaps can realize highly sensitive detection of various pollutants. This approach offers advantages in electromagnetic field enhancement, tunable nanogaps, uniformity, reproducibility, and recyclability, making it promising for applications in environmental monitoring, bioassays, food safety, and medical diagnostics.