Abstract
As typical earthy-musty odor contaminants, the rapid detection of 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) and geosmin (GSM) is crucial for ensuring the safety of water environments and the quality of food. Traditional methods have drawbacks, such as insufficient sensitivity, poor anti-interference ability, and being time-consuming. Therefore, developing rapid and highly sensitive detection technologies is of great significance for achieving real-time monitoring of earthy-musty odor contaminants. Herein, a novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) method based on a copper sheet-reduced graphene oxide-Au@Ag hollow nanoshells-Au nanostars (Cu-rGO-Au@Ag HNSs-Au NSs) platform for the simultaneous detection of 2-MIB and GSM is proposed. This method utilizes the sharp corners and branched structures of Au NSs that can generate a stronger localized electromagnetic field under laser irradiation. The incorporation of Au@Ag HNSs enhances the Raman scattering signals of 2-MIB and GSM. Introducing rGO as a charge transfer medium and molecular capture platform and combining it with the excellent electrical conductivity of Cu and the advantages of controllable electrodeposition significantly improved the detection sensitivity of SERS. The detection range of 2-MIB and GSM using this method spans from 0.1 ng/L to 1 mg/L and the limits of detection of 2-MIB and GSM are 0.089 and 0.092 ng/L, respectively, indicating the high sensitivity of the developed method. The new SERS-based method simplifies the detection process, making it more convenient and efficient, and has great application potential in various fields, especially food safety.