Surface enhanced Raman scattering substrate for the detection of explosives: Construction strategy and dimensional effect

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technology has been reported to be able to quickly and non-destructively identify target analytes. SERS substrate with high sensitivity and selectivity gave SERS technology a broad application prospect. This contribution alms to provide a detailed and systematic review of the current state of research on SERS-based explosive sensors, with particular attention to current research advances. This review mainly focuses on the strategies for improving SERS performance and the SERS substrates with different dimensions including zero-dimensional (OD) nanocolloids, one-dimensional (1D) nanowires and nanorods, two-dimensional (2D) arrays, and three-dimensional (3D) networks. The effects of elemental composition, the shape and size of metal nanoparticles, hot-spot structure and surface modification on the performance of explosive detection are also reviewed. In addition, the future development tendency and application of SERS-based explosive sensors are prospected.