Ultrasensitive Detection of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Water Using 3D SERS Substrates produced in cold plasma

Abstract

We present a simple and effective nanofabrication procedure to produce large-scale 3D nanoporous Ag-based SERS substrates which exhibit excellent spatial reproducibility and EF of about 108. Our substrates can detect polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons dispersed in water without any functionalization of the surface, reaching a LOD of ~ 20 nM.