Multi-channel surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) platform for pollutant detection in water fabricated on polydimethylsiloxane.

A miniature multi-channel surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is constructed to achieve rapid delivery of polluted water and specific identification of multiple components. Hg, organic pollutants, and sodium nitrite are successfully identified by the multi-channel SERS sensor using Cy5, cyclodextrin, and urea in the corresponding detection area. This multi-channel sensor exhibits excellent sensitivity and specificity, with detection limits of 3.2 × 10 M for Hg, 1.0 × 10 M for aniline, 6.9 × 10 M for diphenylamine, 9.1 × 10 M for PCB-77, and 7.5 × 10 M for pyrene, and 5.0 × 10 M for sodium nitrite. Compared with traditional analysis techniques, this method exhibited excellent recovery for the water pollutants ranging from 82.1 to 115.8%. The PDMS-based microchannel allows for simultaneous and rapid identification of multiple environmental pollutants, offering a portable detection method for emergency testing of environmental pollutants and routine determination of water pollutants.