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Nanosculptured tungsten oxide: High-efficiency SERS sensor for explosives tracing.

Vasyl Shvalya1, Jaka Olenik2, Damjan Vengust1

  • 1Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Journal of Hazardous Materials
|July 13, 2024
PubMed
Summary

This study introduces an improved surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate for rapid explosive detection. The novel tungsten-gold nanostructure enhances sensitivity, enabling trace detection crucial for safety and forensics.

Keywords:
ExplosivesNanoplasmonicsPlasma cleaningSERSTungsten oxide

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Spectroscopy

Background:

  • Accurate and rapid identification of explosives and toxic by-products is critical for safety, forensics, and environmental monitoring.
  • Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) offers a sensitive method for molecular detection.
  • Developing robust and highly sensitive SERS substrates is essential for practical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop an improved SERS substrate for enhanced detection of explosive molecules.
  • To investigate the effect of controllable tungsten surface oxidation and gold deposition on SERS performance.
  • To demonstrate the substrate's capability for label-free SERS screening of explosives in aqueous media.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of SERS substrates via controllable oxidation of tungsten and subsequent gold deposition.
  • Characterization of substrate morphology and nanoroughness.
  • Evaluation of SERS response enhancement, reproducibility, and signal recovery after plasma cleaning.
  • Determination of limit of detection (LoD) for explosives in different measurement scenarios.
  • Classification of molecular fingerprints of common explosives (HMX, Tetryl, TNB, TNT).

Main Results:

  • The optimized substrate exhibited a furrow-like morphology, increasing nanoroughness and SERS response by over 300% compared to untreated surfaces.
  • Excellent reproducibility (RSD < 15%) and high signal recovery (>95%) after Ar/O2 plasma cleaning were achieved.
  • Detection limits better than 10⁻⁸ M (dried) and 10⁻⁷ M (water droplets) were obtained, outperforming UV-Vis spectroscopy.
  • Successful classification of molecular fingerprints for HMX, Tetryl, TNB, and TNT.

Conclusions:

  • The developed SERS substrate demonstrates significantly enhanced sensitivity and reproducibility for explosive detection.
  • The substrate's robust performance and ability to identify specific explosive signatures are suitable for practical monitoring.
  • This technology offers an efficient, label-free SERS screening method for detecting trace explosives, particularly in water.