Ultrasensitive Detection of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Water Using Three-Dimensional SERS Substrate Based on Porous Material and pH 13 Gold Nanoparticles

Abstract

Sensitivity is crucially important for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) application to detect trace-level polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the seawater. In this study, a high sensitivity three-dimensional (3-D) SERS substrate composed with syringe filter, glycidyl methacrylate-ethylene dimethacrylate (GMA-EDMA) porous material and optimal parameters (57 nm, pH 13) gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was developed for the detection of PAHs in water. The enhancement effect and repeatability of this 3-D substrate were also explored. The Raman intensity of pyrene using 3-D SERS substrate is about 8 times higher than that of substrate only using pH 13 gold colloid solution and about 12 times higher than that of substrate using natural AuNPs and GMA-EDMA porous material, which means both the pH 13 AuNPs and the GMA-EDMA porous material are important factors for the sensitivity of this 3-D SERS substrate. Good repeatability of this optimal 3-D substrate was obtained. The relative standard deviation (RSD) is less than 8.66% on the same substrate and less than 3.69% on other different substrates. Four kinds of PAHs, i. e., phenanthrene, pyrene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(k)fluoranthene and their mixture, were detected at the different concentrations. Their limits of detection (LODs) are 8.3×10 ⁻¹⁰ (phenanthrene), 2.1×10 ⁻¹⁰ (pyrene), 3.8×10 ⁻¹⁰ (benzo(a)pyrene) and 1.7×10 ⁻¹⁰ mol L ⁻¹ (benzo (k)fluoranthene), respectively. In addition, these four PAHs were also detected by fluorescence spectroscopy to evaluate the sensitivity of SERS technology using this optimal 3-D SERS substrate. The results showed that the sensitivity of SERS based on the 3-D SERS substrate even using the portable Raman system was closed to that of fluorescence spectroscopy. Therefore, the SERS technology using this optimal 3-D substrate is expected to be an in-situ method for the detection of environmental PAHs.

Journal

Journal ID (publisher-id): JOUC

Title: Journal of Ocean University of China

Publisher: Science Press and Springer (China )

ISSN (Electronic): 1672-5182

Publication date (Electronic): 12 November 2019

Publication date (Print): 01 December 2019

Volume: 18

Issue: 6

Pages: 1523-1531

Affiliations

¹Optics and Optoelectronics Laboratory, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China

²Department of Physics and Electronic Science, Weifang University, Weifang 261061, China

Author notes

*Corresponding author: MA Jun

Article

Publisher ID: s11802-019-3911-9

DOI: 10.1007/s11802-019-3911-9

Copyright statement: Copyright © Ocean University of China, Science Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany 2019.

License:

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