Title
Hybrid Sol-Gel Surface-Enhanced Raman Sensor for Xylene Detection in Solution
Abstract
This paper reports on the fabrication and characterization of a plasmonic/sol-gel sensor for the detection of aromatic molecules. The sol-gel film was engineered using polysilsesquioxanes groups to capture the analyte, through pi-pi interaction, and to concentrate it close to the plasmonic surface, where Raman amplification occurs. Xylene was chosen as an analyte to test the sensor. It belongs to the general class of volatile organic compounds and can be found in water or in the atmosphere as pollutants released from a variety of processes; its detection with SERS is typically challenging, due to its low affinity toward metallic surfaces. The identification of xylene was verified in comparison with that of other aromatic molecules, such as benzene and toluene. Investigations were carried out on solutions of xylene in cyclohexane, using concentrations in the range from 0 to 800 mM, to evaluate the limit of detection (LOD) of about 40 mM.
Year
DOI
Venue
2021
10.3390/s21237912
SENSORS
Keywords
DocType
Volume
xylene, SERS sensor, nanostructures, sol-gel film
Journal
21
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
23
1424-8220
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
0
7
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Verena Weber100.34
Laura Brigo200.34
Giovanna Brusatin300.34
Giovanni Mattei400.34
Danilo Pedron500.34
Roberto Pilot600.34
Raffaella Signorini700.34