Gravure printed flexible surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate for detection of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) vapor

Abstract

Please cite this article in press as: S. Emamian, et al., Gravure printed flexible surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate for detection of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) vapor, Sens. Actuators B: Chem. (2014), http://dx. a b s t r a c tAn efficient surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate was successfully fabricated by gravure printing a thin film of silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) ink, with average particle size of 150 nm, on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet. The feasibility of the printed SERS substrate for detecting explosive organic compounds such as 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT), in vapor phase, was investigated. The SERS based response of the printed substrate demonstrated an enhancement factor of four in the intensity of the Raman signal of DNT vapor when compared to target molecules adsorbed on bare PET. An 85% decrease in the intensity of the Raman spectrum was also observed as the temperature increased from 25 • C to 65 • C. The results obtained show the efficiency of the gravure printed SERS substrate to be used in applications for the detection of explosive organic compounds.

Highly sensitive SERS quantification of organophosphorous chemical warfare agents: A major step towards the real time sensing in the gas phase

“…Under the experimental conditions used, the theoretical limit of detection (LOD) calculated as three times the noise level (obtained from the standard deviation value of the PC stretching line intensity of five independent experiments), is 130 ppbV. This value is well beyond any previously reported limits for real-time detection of airborne CWAs [21][22][23][24].…”

“…The label free SERS detection of target analytes in the gas phase [22] becomes even more challenging for molecules with a low cross section. SERS detection of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), a G-agents simulant, was demonstrated two decades ago [23] on roughened silver oxide substrates but detection was carried out upon 40 min exposure time and at a concentration of 1000 ppmV.…”

Sensitive and specific detection of explosives in solution and vapour by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy on silver nanocubes

“…20 The detection of DNT is challenging due to its low vapour pressure at room temperature (0.035 Pa at 25°C), but it is still more concentrated than TNT in the vapour phase. 38 RDX is one of the most potent secondary explosives and it is found in compositions such as Semtex. The vapour pressure of RDX is around 4.4 × 10 −7 Pa at 25°C, making vapour detection very difficult.…”

In situ synthesis of low-cost and large-scale flexible metal nanoparticle–polymer composite films as highly sensitive SERS substrates for surface trace analysis

“…as scaffolds have been reported. [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] For example, owing to the nanoparticle self-assembly on the water/oil interface and the physical constraint of PMMA and PE, highly active, exible and transparent substrates have been developed recently. 35,36 However, the requirement of volatile organic solvents is environmentally unfriendly.…”