Surface-enhanced Raman scattering of uranyl in aqueous samples: implications for nuclear forensics and groundwater testing

Abstract

A surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) method, based on functionalized silver colloids, is developed for the detection of uranyl ions that yields a limit of detection of 24 ppb. The signal is obtained from functionalized colloids three months after preparation and in the presence of interferents likely to be present in groundwater. Additionally, our method is transferrable to a hand-held Raman spectrometer with comparable sensitivity, exhibiting potential for field analysis of uranium.