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Au-decorated ZnO microspheres for SERS detection and removal of trace 2-mercaptobenzothiazole from environmental
Jiangli Shi1, Boran Zhang1, Li Zhang1
1The Education Ministry Key Lab of Resource Chemistry, Joint International Research Laboratory of Resource Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Shanghai Municipal Education Committee Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging Probes and Sensors, Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Biomimetic Catalysis and College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, China.
Abstract:
The synthesis of ZnO microspheres with different morphologies (spherical and flower-like) decorated with Au nanoparticles (hereafter referred to as S-ZnO-Au MPs and F-ZnO-Au MPs, respectively) as ultrasensitive SERS-active substrates are proposed for the trace-level detection and photocatalytic degradation of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) in aquatic environments. Both spherical and flower-like ZnO microspheres were synthesized via a hydrothermal method. Subsequently, Au nanoparticles were deposited onto their surfaces through in situ reduction of chloroauric acid. Comparative analysis revealed that the S-ZnO-Au MPs exhibited superior SERS performance, with a high enhancement factor of 5.5 × 107. Taking advantage of the synergistic effects of chemical enhancement from ZnO semiconductor and electromagnetic enhancement from AuNPs, the S-ZnO-Au MPs-based SERS assay for MBT demonstrates high sensitivity and reaches a limit of detection of 1.42 × 10-10 mol/L, exhibiting a wide linear dynamic detection range from 1 × 10-8 to 1 × 10-4 mol/L, with a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.9901. S-ZnO-Au MPs enable highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of MBT (98% in 50 min) via radical-mediated oxidation. The developed ZnO-Au MP structure exhibits significant potential as a multifunctional SERS substrate, enabling both the sensitive detection and subsequent photocatalytic degradation of MBT in aquatic environments.
