Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been widely used as a sensitive molecular spectroscopy technology in food safety detection. Precise morphology control of plasmonic nanoparticles for high sensitivity and high uniformity SERS substrates remains challenging. Herein, silver decahedral nanoparticles (AgDeNPs) with uniform and adjustable sizes were synthesized by a photochemical seed-mediated method and utilized as SERS substrates for pesticide residue detection. The SERS sensitivity was demonstrated by using 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) as a typical model molecule, and the limit of detection (LOD) reached 1.0 × 10−13 M. The pesticide residue detection of thiram in aqueous solution and on fruit peels was successfully realized; the LODs were 1.0 × 10−11 M and 0.96 ng cm−2, respectively, and SERS repeatability was also proved. Overall, size-tunable AgDeNPs show attractive SERS performances and are expected to hold potential application in sensitive food and environmental safety detection.
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