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Photothermal convection-driven highly sensitive in situ detection of nanoplastics in water using an optical fiber SERS probe
Summary
Researchers developed an optical fiber probe coated with gold nanorod clusters that uses laser-induced heat to drive nanoplastics toward the sensor surface, enabling sensitive in-water detection of polystyrene nanoplastics down to 0.32 µg/mL using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy without extracting the sample.
Nanoplastics pose significant environmental and human health risks because of their small size and extensive specific surface area. The detection of nanoplastics in aqueous systems is crucial for environmental monitoring. This study focuses on the in situ detection of nanoplastics in water using fiber-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) probes. High-performance fiber SERS probes were prepared using a laser-induced evaporation self-assembly method (LIESAM), which deposited numerous Au-nanorod clusters on the fiber facet, resulting in a large SERS enhancement factor. The optothermal convection surrounding the fiber SERS probes promoted the extensive movement of nanoplastics in water, resulting in increased adsorption of nanoplastics onto the probe surface. This approach achieved high SERS detection sensitivity and excellent spectral reproducibility, with limits of detection of 0.32 and 1.68 μg/mL for 100- and 30-nm polystyrene nanoplastics in deionized water, respectively, with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of < 10 % in spectral peak intensity. The capability of fiber SERS probes for detecting nanoplastics in more complex liquid-phase environments was also investigated. This study presents a novel in situ SERS detection strategy for nanoplastics in water, which offers promising applications for environmental monitoring.