Recent advances in surface‐enhanced Raman scattering‐based sensors for the detection of inorganic ions: Sensing mechanism and beyond
Wei Ji, Linfang Li, Yue Zhang, Xinnan Wang, Yukihiro Ozaki
Abstract
Abstract Inorganic ions determination has been receiving increased attention due to its strong environmental and biomedical impact. Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy has been considered to be a promising alternative method for inorganic ions analysis. Initially, the detection of inorganic ions is indirectly achieved by monitoring the SERS spectral alteration of a molecular probe (Raman reporter) upon its interaction with a specific inorganic ion. Recent years, based on incorporation of a functional molecule, an aptamer, and a nanocatalyst into a sensing system, numerous new methods have been proposed for the construction of sensitive SERS‐based inorganic ion sensors. Herein, this review is devoted to the recent advances in SERS‐based sensors for the determination of inorganic ions and specially focuses on the sensing mechanism and sensing methods. In addition, the current challenges and future research opportunities in utilizing SERS‐based methods for inorganic ions sensing are briefly featured.