Synthesis of surface-imprinted Ag nanoplates for detecting organic pollutants in water environments based on surface enhanced Raman scattering

Ag–molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) hybrid composites (Ag@MIPs) were prepared for the ultra-sensitive detection of organic pollutants in water based on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The prepared Ag@MIPs hybrid, with about a 2 nm ultrathin polymer shell, exhibited high affinity. Meanwhile, upon SERS measurements, the limit of detection for the Ag@MIPs hybrid can be as low as 10−12 M for the target molecule Rhodamine B, which was three orders of magnitude higher than classical SERS detection on silver nanoparticles. Furthermore, the Ag@MIPs hybrid also showed good reproducibility and high selectivity toward structurally related analogues. In addition, the present work provides a promising platform for the highly sensitive and selective detection of organic pollutants in water based on SERS measurements.