Photocatalytic green fabrication of Au nanoparticles on ZnO nanorods modified membrane as flexible and photocatalytic active reusable SERS substrates

In this study, a UV-irradiation was exploited as an ease non-toxic photochemical method for a one-step reduction-deposition of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on zinc oxide nanorods supporter (AuNPs@ZnO) patterned on a flexible and porous membrane. Here, we were able to fabricate a self-cleaned and recyclable SERS-active flexible substrate for the quantitative analysis of hazard organic contaminants. The photocatalytic activity of AuNPs@ZnO nanorods was significantly improved under UV- irradiation and after the deposition of AuNPs of ∼21 nm on the surface of ZnO nanorods of average particle size ∼ 60 nm. The morphology, crystallinity, structural phase and optical behaviors of AuNPs@ZnO nanorods modified flexible membrane were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM, SEM-EDX, SEM-Mapping), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and SERS analysis. The photocatalytic capabilities of AuNPs@ZnO nanorods modified flexible membrane were exploited to reuse it as SERS substrates for six cycles without losing significant sensitivity through UV-sensitized photocatalytic self-cleaning. As a result, the optimized AuNPs@ZnO; used for SERS analysis of rhodamine 6 G (R6 G) and erythrosine B (EryB), was able to degrade probe-analytes within ∼10 min and a resultant detection limit of 10−10 and 10-9 M, respectively. Additionally, the calculated enhancement factor was 4.96 × 105 and ∼1.73 × 105 for R6 G and Ery B, respectively. Particularly, this contribution is ...
Source: Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research