In situ synthesis of SERS-active Au@POM nanostructures in a microfluidic device for real-time detection of water pollutants

Abstract

We present a simple, versatile and low-cost approach for the preparation of SERS-active regions within a microfluidic channel 50 cm in length. The approach involves the UV-light-driven formation of polyoxometalate-decorated gold nanostructures, Au@POM (POM: H3PW12O40 (PW) and H3PMo12O40 (PMo)), that self-assemble in situ on the surface of the PDMS microchannels without any extra functionalization procedure. The fabricated LoCs were characterized by SEM, UV-Vis, Raman, XRD and XPS techniques. The SERS activity of the resulting Au@POM–coated lab-on-a-chip (LoC) devices was evaluated in both static and flow conditions using Rhodamine R6G. The SERS response of Au@PW–based LoCs was found superior to Au@PMo counterparts and outstanding when compared to reported data on metal@POM nanocomposites. We demonstrate the potentialities of both Au@POM–coated LoCs as analytical platforms for real time detection of the organophosphorous pesticide Paraoxon-methyl at 10-6 M concentration level.