Highly sensitive fluorescent explosives detection via SERS: based on fluorescence quenching of graphene oxide@Ag composite aerogels

Lingyan Shi; Wei Liu; Xuan He; Zihan Wang; Weiping Xian; Jie Wang; Sheng Cui

doi:10.1039/d3ay02052e

Highly sensitive fluorescent explosives detection via SERS: based on fluorescence quenching of graphene oxide@Ag composite aerogels

Anal Methods. 2024 Mar 7;16(10):1489-1495. doi: 10.1039/d3ay02052e.

Authors

Lingyan Shi^{1

2

3}, Wei Liu^{1

2

3}, Xuan He², Zihan Wang^{1

2

3}, Weiping Xian², Jie Wang^{1

3}, Sheng Cui^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Material Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China. scui@njtech.edu.cn.
² Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, China. hellenpoko@qq.com.
³ Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Inorganic Function Composites, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China.

PMID: 38369952
DOI: 10.1039/d3ay02052e

Abstract

High fluorescence background poses a substantial challenge to surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), thereby limiting its broader applicability across diverse domains. In this work, silver nanoparticle (Ag NP)-loaded graphene oxide aerogel nanomaterials (GO-Ag ANM) were prepared for sensitive SERS detection of fluorescent explosive 2,4,8,10-tetranitrobenzo-1,3a,6,6a-tetraazapentaenopyridine (BPTAP) by a fluorescence quenching strategy. By harnessing the fluorescence quenching properties of graphene and the localized surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles, the synthesized aerogels exhibited effective fluorescence quenching and Raman enhancement capabilities when employed for BPTAP analysis with 532 nm laser excitation. Significantly, precise control over the loading quantity of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) resulted in the remarkable sensitivity of the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect. This method allowed for the detection of fluorescent explosive BPTAP at an extraordinarily low concentration of 1 × 10^-7 M. Furthermore, the approach also demonstrated excellent detection capabilities for the dyes R6G, CV, and RhB. This study offers valuable insights for the sensitive detection of fluorescent molecules.