Reduced graphene oxide-carbon nanotubes nanocomposites-decorated porous silver nanodendrites for highly efficient SERS sensing

In this study, an innovative nanocomposite of reduced graphene oxide-carbon nanotubes/porous silver dendrites (rGO-CNTs/pAgDs) was formed on silicon substrate using a straightforward plasma jet technique. This nanocomposite was employed as a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate to detect hazardous pollutants, including rhodamine 6G (R6G) and pesticide residues like malathion (MAL). For R6G probe, the SERS substrate exhibited a good enhancement factor (EF) of 1.68 x 107 and a low detection limit (LOD) of 2.43 x 10-13 M. Moreover, this SERS substrate owned a good stability for the SERS intensity which was reduced only by 12.4 % after aging time for 21 days and the relative standard deviation (RSD) values were lower than 15 %, revealing an excellent uniformity and reproducibility. For MAL detection, this SERS substrate exhibited a low LOD of 1.72 x 10-10 M. This SERS substrate shows great potential for detecting and monitoring hazardous pollutants and pesticide residues.