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Updated: Apr 12, 2026
Author Spotlight: Development and Application of SERS Flexible Substrates Using Synthesized AgNPs
Published on: November 17, 2023
Low-Cost, Disposable, Flexible and Highly Reproducible Screen Printed SERS Substrates for the Detection of Various
Wei Wu1, Li Liu2, Zhigao Dai3
11] Laboratory of Printable Functional Nanomaterials and Printed Electronics, School of Printing and Packaging, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, P. R. China [2] Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Ideal SERS substrates for sensing applications should exhibit strong signal enhancement, generate a reproducible and uniform response, and should be able to fabricate in large-scale and low-cost. Herein, we demonstrate low-cost, highly sensitive, disposable and reproducible SERS substrates by means of screen printing Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on a plastic PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) substrates. While there are many complex methods for the fabrication of SERS substrates, screen printing is suitable for large-area fabrication and overcomes the uneven radial distribution. Using as-printed Ag substrates as the SERS platform, detection of various commonly known chemicals have been done. The SERS detection limit of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) is higher than the concentration of 1 × 10(-10) M. The relative standard deviation (RSD) value for 784 points on the detection of R6G and Malachite green (MG) is less than 20% revealing a homogeneous SERS distribution and high reproducibility. Moreover, melamine (MA) is detected in fresh liquid-milk without additional pretreatment, which may accelerate the application of rapid on-line detection of MA in liquid milk. Our screen printing method highlights the use of large-scale printing strategies for the fabrication of well-defined functional nanostructures with applications well beyond the field of SERS sensing.
