Perchlorate Detection at Nanomolar Concentrations by Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

摘要

Perchlorate (ClO4 ) has emerged as a widespread environmental contaminant and has been detected in various food products and even in human breast milk and urine. This research developed a sensing technique based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for rapid screening and monitoring of this contaminant in groundwater and surface water. The technique was found to be capable of detecting ClO4 at concentrations as low as 10 9 M (or ;0.1 lg/L) by using 2-dimethylaminoethanethiol (DMAE) modified gold nanoparticles as a SERS substrate. Quantitative analysis of ClO4 was validated with good eproducibility by using both simulated and contaminated groundwater samples. When coupled with a portable Raman spectrometer, this technique has the potential to be used as an in situ, rapid screening tool for perchlorate in the environment.