Silver nanoparticle arrays on track etch membrane support as flow-through optical sensors for water quality control

Abstract

Silver nanoparticle arrays were assembled on the surface of polycarbonate track etch membranes using 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane as the chemical linker. The assembled arrays were submonolayer and reproducibly regular. The nanoparticle-modified membranes were characterized in terms of their hydraulic and optical properties and were evaluated as flow-through surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors for water quality monitoring. The membrane-supported nanoparticle arrays were found to be SERS-active with slightly lower but significantly more reproducible enhancements in comparison with enhancements afforded by source nanoparticle suspensions. Large enhancements of up to 10 5 were demonstrated due to preconcentration by recirculating analyte solution through nanoparticle-modified membranes that were shown to retain their hydraulic properties. The findings point to the promise of combining high specification SERS-active systems and the flow-through design for the development of analytical sensors for the trace detection of aqueous pollutants. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.