ZnO/Ag porous nanosheets used as substrate for surface-enhanced Raman scattering to detect organic pollutant

Abstract

Self-assembled porous ZnO nanosheets were fabricated through an one-step solvent method which is convenient and environmentally friendly, and then silver nanoparticles were deposted on to it to make a type of hybrid material. The ZnO/Ag composite was used as the substrate for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to measure the Rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules. Strong SERS signals were obtained when the concentration of the probe molecules was as low as 10⁻¹³ M. Besides, the substrate exhibited light-assisted self-cleaning properties under UV irradiation. Thus, the as-prepared nanomaterials showed potential application for environmentally friendly and economical organic pollutant detection.