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PreprintCC BY-NC-NDChemRxiv

Drop-in Silver Nanogap−Cellulose Concentrator for Surface-Enhanced Raman Monitoring of Water Contaminants

  • Jonghyun Shin1,2,3,4
  • Young Jun Kim1,2
  • Yaprak Özbakir1,2
  • Tzu-Chiao Wei1,2
  • Cho-Hee Yang3,4
  • Jiwoo Ko5,6
  • Chuhyung Kim7,8
  • Bong-Hyun Jun3,4
  • Carlo Carraro1,2
  • Roya Maboudian1,2
8 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
  2. 2University of California, Berkeley
  3. 3Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology
  4. 4Konkuk University
  5. 5Department of Energy Engineering
  6. 6Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH)
  7. 7Energy Storage & Distributed Resources Division
  8. 8Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Open at sourceDOICite

Abstract

Organic contaminants in natural waters threaten ecosystems and human health, motivating integrated strategies for trace-level monitoring. Although surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) offers molecular specificity and trace-level sensitivity, many platforms require separate preconcentration, provide limited control over analyte delivery to plasmonic hot spots, and lose performance in complex water matrices. Here, a poly(ether-block-amide) (PEBAX)-coated Ag nanogap–cellulose concentrator is reported, coupling self-driven interfacial enrichment with Raman readout through an amphiphilic, chemically heterogeneous, mixed-polarity interface. The engineered interface enabled charge-diverse partitioning of cationic and anionic molecular probes down to 10 -10 M across a broad pH range. Relative to the uncoated sensor, interfacial enrichment coupled to Ag nanogaps lowered SERS detection limits by up to 3,100-fold, reaching 1.1 × 10 -11 M for crystal violet and 2.3 × 10 -9 M for methyl orange. In untreated tap and lake water, the coated sensor resolved crystal violet and methyl orange fingerprints that were weak or variable on the uncoated sensor and identified acetamiprid and thymol within 30 min. These results show that coupling interfacial concentration with nanogap-mediated molecular readout establishes an integrated route for passive monitoring of trace contaminants in complex water matrices.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{shin2026dropin,
  title = {{Drop-in Silver Nanogap−Cellulose Concentrator for Surface-Enhanced Raman Monitoring of Water Contaminants}},
  author = {Jonghyun Shin and Young Jun Kim and Yaprak Özbakir and Tzu-Chiao Wei and Cho-Hee Yang and Jiwoo Ko and Chuhyung Kim and Bong-Hyun Jun and Carlo Carraro and Roya Maboudian},
  howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15009784/v1},
  url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009784/v1},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Drop-in Silver Nanogap−Cellulose Concentrator for Surface-Enhanced Raman Monitoring of Water Contaminants
AU  - Jonghyun Shin
AU  - Young Jun Kim
AU  - Yaprak Özbakir
AU  - Tzu-Chiao Wei
AU  - Cho-Hee Yang
AU  - Jiwoo Ko
AU  - Chuhyung Kim
AU  - Bong-Hyun Jun
AU  - Carlo Carraro
AU  - Roya Maboudian
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/02
PB  - ChemRxiv
DO  - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15009784/v1
UR  - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009784/v1
AB  - Organic contaminants in natural waters threaten ecosystems and human health, motivating integrated strategies for trace-level monitoring. Although surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) offers molecular specificity and trace-level sensitivity, many platforms require separate preconcentration, provide limited control over analyte delivery to plasmonic hot spots, and lose performance in complex water matrices. Here, a poly(ether-block-amide) (PEBAX)-coated Ag nanogap–cellulose concentrator is reported, coupling self-driven interfacial enrichment with Raman readout through an amphiphilic, chemically heterogeneous, mixed-polarity interface. The engineered interface enabled charge-diverse partitioning of cationic and anionic molecular probes down to 10 -10 M across a broad pH range. Relative to the uncoated sensor, interfacial enrichment coupled to Ag nanogaps lowered SERS detection limits by up to 3,100-fold, reaching 1.1 × 10 -11 M for crystal violet and 2.3 × 10 -9 M for methyl orange. In untreated tap and lake water, the coated sensor resolved crystal violet and methyl orange fingerprints that were weak or variable on the uncoated sensor and identified acetamiprid and thymol within 30 min. These results show that coupling interfacial concentration with nanogap-mediated molecular readout establishes an integrated route for passive monitoring of trace contaminants in complex water matrices.
ER  -