ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Titanium carbide MXene/silver nanostars composite as SERS substrate for thiram pesticide detection

Nur Nazhifah Yusoff, Farah Shahadah Nor Azmi, Norhayati Abu Bakar, Tengku Hasnan Tengku Abdul Aziz, and Joseph George Shapter

Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronic (IMEN), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia

E-mail: norhayati.ab@ukm.edu.my

Received: 22 September 2023  Accepted: 11 December 2023

Abstract:

Two-dimensional transition metal carbonitrides, Ti₃C₂T_x MXene nanosheets, have drawn much attention due to their unique optical properties. These materials have huge potential to be employed as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. Herein, to combine the benefits of metal nanoparticles and MXene as SERS substrates, we prepared composite SERS films with different volume ratios composed of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene with silver nanostars (AgNs) as a promising SERS substrate for detection of pesticides. These SERS films were prepared via a drop-casting technique. The SERS activities of the MXene/AgNs composites were evaluated through detection of the thiram pesticide. MXene/AgNs exhibited the highest SERS intensity compared to MXene or AgNs substrate alone. Sampling from 20 different areas and samples of the substrate gave very consistent SERS signals. The MXene/AgNs substrate shows good stability for 1 month when stored in a small transparent container with silica gel. The MXene/AgNs SERS substrate exhibits excellent sensitivity able to detect thiram concentrations as low as 10⁻⁸ M which also having low a relative standard deviation (RSD) value for reproducibility and stability over a significant period.

Keywords: MXene nanosheets; Silver nanostar; Surface-enhanced Raman scattering; Thiram fungicide

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-023-03276-3

Chemical Papers 78 (5) 2855–2865 (2024)