Charge-Transfer Resonance and Electromagnetic Enhancement Synergistically Enabling MXenes with Excellent SERS Sensitivity for SARS-CoV-2 S Protein Detection
Yusi Peng, Chenglong Lin, Long Li, Masaki Tanemura, Mao Tang, Lili Yang, Jianjun Liu, Zhengren Huang, Zhiyuan Li, Xiaoying Luo, John R. Lombardi, Yong Yang
Abstract
Abstract The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 has seriously threatened human health. Rapidly and sensitively detecting SARS-CoV-2 viruses can help control the spread of viruses. However, it is an arduous challenge to apply semiconductor-based substrates for virus SERS detection due to their poor sensitivity. Therefore, it is worthwhile to search novel semiconductor-based substrates with excellent SERS sensitivity. Herein we report, for the first time, Nb 2 C and Ta 2 C MXenes exhibit a remarkable SERS enhancement, which is synergistically enabled by the charge transfer resonance enhancement and electromagnetic enhancement. Their SERS sensitivity is optimized to 3.0 × 10 6 and 1.4 × 10 6 under the optimal resonance excitation wavelength of 532 nm. Additionally, remarkable SERS sensitivity endows Ta 2 C MXenes with capability to sensitively detect and accurately identify the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Moreover, its detection limit is as low as 5 × 10 −9 M, which is beneficial to achieve real-time monitoring and early warning of novel coronavirus. This research not only provides helpful theoretical guidance for exploring other novel SERS-active semiconductor-based materials but also provides a potential candidate for the practical applications of SERS technology.