Xie, H;
Zhu, S;
Cao, J;
Lee, JH;
Yin, Y;
Zhou, D;
Yan, J;
... Lan, Y; + view all
(2025)
Hollow raspberry-like nanoaggregates for sensitive SERS detection of PAHs in water.
Chemical Engineering Journal
, 511
, Article 161872. 10.1016/j.cej.2025.161872.
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Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are significant environmental contaminants with considerable health risks, emphasizing the need for effective monitoring and identification. On-site detection of PAHs using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) remains challenging due to their weak adsorption on substrates and potential interference from the substrates themselves. To address these challenges, we developed hollow raspberry-like plasmonic nanoaggregates made of functionalized-polystyrene hollow microspheres (HM) decorated with gold nanoparticles (Au NPs). These nanoaggregates feature a hydrophobic inner cavity that effectively enriches PAHs, improving detection sensitivity. Through enhanced plasmonic coupling by carefully controlling Au NPs coverage on polystyrene (PS) surfaces, functionalizing the amino groups on the microsphere surface, and fine-tuning the Au NP to PS ratio, our method achieved detection limits of 4 × 10−8 M for pyrene, 6 × 10−7 M for fluorene, and 4 × 10−7 M for benzo[a]anthracene. Moreover, this approach was effectively utilized for detecting PAHs in both Yellow River water and tap water. This study highlights the capabilities of hollow raspberry-like plasmonic nanoaggregates for qualitative and quantitative analysis of PAHs, thereby broadening the use of advanced nanomaterials in monitoring environmental water quality.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Hollow raspberry-like nanoaggregates for sensitive SERS detection of PAHs in water |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.cej.2025.161872 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.161872 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), Hollow raspberry-like nanoaggregates, Gold Nanoparticles (Au NPs), Environmental water detection |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > MAPS Faculty Office UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > MAPS Faculty Office > Institute for Materials Discovery |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10207267 |
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