Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of Organic Molecules Adsorbed on Metallic Nanoparticles

摘要

The improvements in Raman instrumentation have led to the development of portable, simple to operate, Raman instruments that can be used for on-site analysis of substances relevant for homeland security purposes such as chemical and biological warfare and explosives materials. Raman spectroscopy, however, suffers from limited sensitivity which can be overcome by Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). SERS can enhance the Raman signal of a target molecule by 6-10 orders of magnitude. The increased sensitivity, together with Raman's molecular recognition capabilities and the availability of portable Raman instruments make SERS a powerful analytical tool for on site detection. In this work we studied the effect of target molecules and SERS-active substrate properties on the obtained SERS, using a field portable Raman spectrometer. Also reported herein is the SERS detection of the chemical warfare agent sulfur mustard (HD, 2,2 dichloroethyl sulfide). This study may serve as a basis for the development of SERS platform for homeland security purposes.