Flexible and recyclable SERS substrate fabricated by decorated TiO2 film with Ag NPs on the cotton fabric

Abstract

Flexible and recyclable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate was fabricated based on woven cotton fabric by grafting Ag nanoparticle on the TiO2 film which was deposited on the cotton fabric. Due to the synergetic effect of heterostructure Ag/TiO2 and superior adsorption capacity of fabrics, recyclable SERS cotton fabric (RSCF) possessed excellent SERS sensitivity with a detected concentration of p-Aminothiophenol as low as 10−12 M. Furthermore, SERS performance of RSCF can be recovered after 180 min in the presence of UV light illumination, resulting from the photocatalytic property of TiO2 on the surface of RSCF. It can be further utilized to reproduce SERS performance of the RSCF through the UV-assisted cleaning. As a trial for potential application, based on the flexibility of cotton fabric, RSCF was employed to detect a pesticide (carbaryl) on the surface of a pear by simply swabbing and low concentration down to 10−4 M was reached. This work provides a potential guide towards the universal design of the flexible and recyclable SERS substrates for a promising application in the SERS rapid detection of trace-level toxic pollutants on the food.