Sea urchin-like K2Ti8O17 substrate: Facile synthesis and improved Surface-Enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance

Non-metallic Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) substrate materials with unique structures are considered as promising candidates for detection of dyes in the environment. In this work, a sea urchin-like K 2 Ti 8 O 17 (KTO) nanomaterial was prepared by a facile and efficient hydrothermal method . The enhancement factors of the sea urchin-like KTO for crystal violet and methylene blue are 3.8 × 10 5 and 2.45 × 10 5 respectively, and the minimum detection limits of both can reach 10 −8 M, which means the sea urchin-like KTO a promising non-metallic SERS substrate for detecting dyes in the environment. The excellent SERS performance of the sea urchin KTO was attributed to the excellent charge transfer and probe adsorption capability of KTO by energy band and zeta potential analysis. Finally, the excellent application potential of the sea urchin KTO was verified by simulating a practical use scenario.