Plasmonic Cavity for Self-Powered Chemical Detection and Performance Boosted Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Detection

With the popularization of the Internet of Things, theapplicationof chemical sensors has become more and more extensive. However, itis difficult for a single functional sensor to meet multiple needsat the same time. For the next generation of chemical sensors, inaddition to rapid qualitative and quantitative detection, it is alsonecessary to solve the problem of a distributed sensor power supply.Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) are two emerging technologies that can be used for chemicaltesting. The combination of TENG and SERS technology is proposed tobe an attractive research strategy to implement qualitative and quantitativeanalysis, as well as self-powered detection in one device. Herein,the Ag nanoparticle (NP)@polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) plasmonic cavityis demonstrated, which can be exploited not only as a SERS substratefor qualitative analysis of the target molecules but also as a TENGbased self-powered chemical sensor for rapid quantitative analysis.More importantly, the as-designed plasmonic cavity enables prolongedtriboelectric field generated by the phenomena of triboelectricity,which in turn enhances the hot spot intensities fromAg NPs in the cavity and boosts the SERS signals. In this way, thedevice can have good feasibility and versatility for chemical detection.Specifically, the measurement of the concentration of many analytescan be successfully realized, including ions and small molecules.The results verify that the proposed sensor system has the potentialfor self-powered chemical sensors for environmental monitoring andanalytical chemistry.

Automated summary

With the popularization of the Internet of Things, the application of chemical sensors has expanded. However, a single sensor cannot meet multiple needs simultaneously. Emerging technologies such as TENG and SERS can be combined to achieve qualitative and quantitative analysis as well as self-powered detection in one device. A plasmonic cavity designed with Ag NP@PDMS demonstrates the feasibility and versatility for chemical detection, including the measurement of concentration of various analytes. This sensor system shows potential for self-powered chemical sensors in environmental monitoring and analytical chemistry.