SERS Detection of Trace Carcinogenic Aromatic Amines Based on Amorphous MoO<sub>3</sub> Monolayers
Xiangyu Meng, Jian Yu, Wenxiong Shi, Lin Qiu, Keliang Qiu, Anran Li, Zhen Liu, Yuening Wang, Jingjing Wu, Jie Lin, Xiaotian Wang, Lin Guo
Abstract
Abstract Aromatic amines are important commercial chemicals, but their carcinogenicity poses a threat to humans and other organisms, making their rapid quantitative detection increasingly urgent. Here, amorphous MoO 3 (a‐MoO 3 ) monolayers with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect in the visible region are designed for the trace detection of carcinogenic aromatic amine molecules. The hot‐electron fast decay component of a‐MoO 3 decreases from 301 fs to 150 fs after absorption with methyl orange (MO) molecules, indicating the plasmon‐induced hot‐electron transfer (PIHET) process from a‐MoO 3 to MO. Therefore, a‐MoO 3 monolayers present high SERS performance due to the synergistic effect of electromagnetic enhancement (EM) and PIHET, proposing the EM‐PIHET synergistic mechanism in a‐MoO 3 . In addition, a‐MoO 3 possesses higher electron delocalization and electronic state density than crystal MoO 3 (c‐MoO 3 ), which is conducive to the PIHET. The limit of detection (LOD) for o‐aminoazotoluene (o‐AAT) is 10 −9 M with good uniformity, acid resistance, and thermal stability. In this work, trace detection and identification of various carcinogenic aromatic amines based on a‐MoO 3 monolayers is realized, which is of great significance for reducing cancer infection rates.