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Corresponding authors
a
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center, Frontiers Science Center for Materiobiology and Dynamic Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, P. R. China
E-mail:
yikaixu@ecust.edu.cn
b
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK
E-mail:
s.bell@qub.ac.uk
c
Institute of Photochemistry and Photofunctional Materials, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, 516 Jungong Road, Shanghai, P. R. China
E-mail:
cli13@qub.ac.uk
Abstract
Many of the features of SERS, such as its high sensitivity, molecular specificity and speed of analysis make it attractive as an analytical technique. However, SERS currently remains a specialist technique which has not yet entered the mainstream of analytical chemistry. Therefore, this review draws out the underlying principles for analytical SERS and provides practical tips and tricks for SERS quantitation. The aim is to show the readers how to rationally design their SERS experiments to improve quantitation performance. We begin by introducing the three core components in SERS analysis: (1) the enhancing substrate material, (2) the Raman instrument and (3) the processed data that is used to establish a calibration curve. This is followed by discussion of the analytical figures of merit relevant to SERS. In the following sections each of the three essential components in SERS quantitation and how they affect the quality of the analysis are described in more detail using examples from the literature. Finally, we highlight the current challenges in applying SERS to the analysis of complex real-life samples and briefly introduce the state-of-the-art developments on multifunctional substrates, digital SERS and AI-assisted data processing, which will help SERS rise to the challenge of moving out into routine real-world analysis.
Article information
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1039/D4CS00861H
- Article type
- Tutorial Review
- Submitted
- 29 Aug 2024
- First published
- 21 Nov 2024
- This article is Open Access
-
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2024, Advance Article
Permissions
A practical approach to quantitative analytical surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
Y. Xu, W. Aljuhani, Y. Zhang, Z. Ye, C. Li and S. E. J. Bell,
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2024, Advance Article
, DOI: 10.1039/D4CS00861H
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