Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopic detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using a gold nanoparticles-modified alginate gel network

This work aims at the development of a fast scanning method for organic pollutants with low-cost small Raman spectrometers. A gold nanoparticles-embedded alginate gel is prepared and applied as the substrate for surface enhanced Raman spectrometric detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The target molecules are captured by the three-dimensional network of the alginate gel, and brought close to the hot spots generated by gold nanoparticles embedded in the gel. Significant Raman enhancement effects are observed in the analysis of four typical PAH compounds including pyrene, anthracene, fluorene and benzo(a) pyrene. Quantitative analysis of BaP shows a limit of detection of 0.365 nM using a low-cost small Raman spectrometer, which is comparable to published values. The practicability of the method is tested by analyzing PAHs in different water samples, offering a fast scanning method for PAHs.