SERS devices with “hedgehog-like” nanosphere arrays for detection of trace pesticides

Abstract

The development of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) devices for detection of trace pesticides has attracted more and more attention. In this work, a large-area self-assembly approach assisted with reactive ion etching (RIE) is proposed for preparing SERS devices consisting of Ag-covered “hedgehog-like” nanosphere arrays (Ag/HLNAs). Such a SERS device has an enhancement factor of [Formula: see text], a limit of detection (LOD) up to 10[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M for Rhodamine 6G (R6G) analytes, and a relative standard deviation (RSD) smaller than 10%, demonstrating high uniformity. Besides, for pesticide detections, the device achieves an LOD of 10[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M for thiram molecules. It indicates that the proposed SERS device has a promising opportunity in detecting toxic organic pesticides.