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Updated: Feb 18, 2026
Author Spotlight: Development and Application of SERS Flexible Substrates Using Synthesized AgNPs
Published on: November 17, 2023
Electrospun flexible poly(bisphenol A carbonate) nanofibers decorated with Ag nanoparticles as effective 3D SERS
1Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, People's Republic of China. rlu@njust.edu.cn wanglj@mail.njust.edu.cn.
Abstract:
A flexible 3D hybrid PC/Ag surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate was fabricated through the combination of electrospinning and in situ chemical reduction. Due to the rough surface morphology and the intricate 3D structure, a high density of Raman "hotspots" was formed at the junctions of cross-linked nanofibers, resulting in excellent sensitivity to a probe molecule (4-aminothiophenol). The nanofibers were modified with l-cysteine to capture TNT molecules by the formation of a Meisenheimer complex, after which positively charged 4-ATP-labelled AgNPs were introduced to the system, which both generated more hotspots and led to a linear relationship between the TNT concentration and the SERS intensity of the labelled molecules. As a result, a good linear response ranging from 10-8 to 10-12 M was achieved, and the detection limit for TNT was as low as 2.05 × 10-13 M. This strategy demonstrates an ultra-sensitive approach for the detection of trace amounts of TNT, and a promising method for the detection of many other analogous explosives.
