Multistep temperature synthesis of flexible Ag NWs@PET for ultralow level SERS detection of Aflatoxin B1

The flexible substrates with high activity are limitedly utilized for the Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) detection of Aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) due to their complex and uncontrollable synthesis. Here, a multistep temperature synthetic strategy is innovatively proposed to facilely and controllably synthesize Ag nanowires loaded on the flexible polyethylene terephthalate nonwoven fabric surface (i.e., Ag NWs@PET). The above strategy can effectively promote the generation and the anisotropic growth of small-sized Ag seeds and thus ensure the uniformity of obtained Ag NWs, providing a valuable reference for the formation of other metal nanowires. Furthermore, Ag NWs@PET is employed as active substrates for the SERS detection of the AFB 1 in corns. Ag NWs@PET exhibits superior sensitivity, mechanical stability, reproducibility, and long-term stability. Noteworthy, by means of Ag NWs@PET, the quantitative detection of AFB 1 ranged from 10 -8 to 10 -13 M can be rapidly achieved. Clearly, as-obtained flexible Ag NWs@PET as a promising SERS substrate can pave the way for the expended implications of the SERS detection in food safety.