Effects and mechanisms of water matrix on surface-enhanced Raman scattering analysis of arsenite on silver nanofilm

Zhonghou Xu, Xiaoguang Meng, Yuejin Zhang, Fasheng Li

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12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ag nanofilm was synthesized using a modified mirror reaction and used as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate for analysis of arsenite (As(III)). The SERS substrate can detect 20 and 50 μg L-1 As(III) spiked in aged tap water and groundwater respectively. The effect of nine common ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, NO3-, CO32-, HPO42-, SO42-and Cl-) in natural water on SERS of 0.5 mg L-1 As(III) was investigated. Na+ and K+ (100 mg L-1) had no obvious negative effects on the SERS intensity of 0.5 mg L-1 As(III), but Ca2+ and Mg2+ significantly decreased that of 0.5 mg L-1 As(III) as their concentrations increased to 1 and 10 mg L-1 respectively. NO3-, SO42-and CO32-(HPO42-) had negligible, medium and significant inhibition on the SERS of As(III) respectively. The inhibition effect of Ca2+ might be through the formation of surface complexes with As(III) on SERS substrate. The inhibition effect of CO32-, HPO42-and SO42- could be explained by the competitive adsorption of anions with As(III) for adsorption sites of Ag nanofilm. It was confirmed that Cl- can activate the SERS of As(III) alone and in the presence of Ca2+, CO32-, HPO42-and SO42-. The activation effect of Cl- on SERS of As(III) could be attributed to charge transfer (CE) mechanism.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)117-125
Number of pages9
JournalColloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects
Volume497
DOIs
StatePublished - 20 May 2016

Keywords

  • Arsenite
  • Speciation
  • Surface-enhanced raman scattering

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