Plasmonic gold nanostars@ZIF-8 nanocomposite for the ultrasensitive detection of gaseous formaldehyde
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Plasmonic gold nanostars@ZIF-8 nanocomposite for the ultrasensitive detection of gaseous formaldehyde Yuzhou Fu1, Mingyang Xin1, Ju Chong1, Ruoping Li1,*, and Mingju Huang1,*
1
Opto-Electronical Materials and Apparatus, International Joint Research Laboratory of New Energy Materials and Devices of Henan Province, School of Physics and Electronics, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Received: 14 July 2020
ABSTRACT
Accepted: 25 October 2020
Formaldehyde is a strong-smelling, colorless, excitant gas that is carcinogenic to humans. It is frequently used in the interior of decorative materials such as wood paneling and carpets. Several epidemiological studies have shown that the increasing incidence of nasal and lung cancer is due to exposure to environmental formaldehyde. Thus, the rapid detection of formaldehyde with high sensitivity is vitally important for environmental monitoring and clinical diagnosis. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an analytical technique that can provide fingerprint information on target materials with a sensitivity even down to the single-molecule level. However, formaldehyde molecules have a low cross section for Raman scattering and extremely weak analyte–metal interactions, and are thus scarcely detectable with conventional SERS technology. In this paper, a porous zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) shell layer was grown in situ on gold nanostars (AuNSs) for capturing and altering the route taken by formaldehyde molecules. Compared with current SERS detection methods, these as-synthesized core–shell AuNS@ZIF-8 nanocomposites with special apertures can cause formaldehyde molecules to pass through the ZIF-8 channels to the metal surface. With the help of ZIF-8 shell layers, the SERSactive AuNS@ZIF-8 substrates display extremely high sensitivity to formaldehyde molecules, with the lowest detection level almost at parts per billion (ppb). This study may therefore provide the basis for a reliable SERS strategy for detecting small molecules, especially gas samples.
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Springer Science+Business
Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Handling Editor: Pedro Camargo.
Address correspondence to E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05507-4
J Mater Sci
Introduction Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an emerging technique based on the combination of nanotechnology and Raman spectroscopy, which can amplify the normally weak Raman signal of molecules through the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of noble metal nanostructures [1–4]. In a relatively short period, it has been applied in the life sciences [5, 6], environmental sciences [7, 8], electrochemistry [9, 10], and plasmon photocatalysis [11, 12] due to its ultrasensitive and nondestructive properties. More importantly, the SERS technique can provide fine molecular fingerprints, which is eminently suitable for qualitative or hypersensitive detection of trace species. It has been reported that, theoretically, SERS can detect target analytes at the single-mole
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