Photocatalytic self-cleaning and recyclable AuNBPs@TiO2 SERS chip for trace detection and in situ monitoring of methylene blue degradation
1 Department of Chemistry, Shanghai Stomatological Hospital, School of Pharmacy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
2 Provincial Key Laboratory of Multimodal Perceiving and Intelligent Systems, Engineering Research Center of Intelligent Human Health Situation Awareness of Zhejiang Province, Jiaxing Key Laboratory of Molecular Recognition and Sensing, College of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, China
3 Department of Geriatrics, Putuo Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
  • Volume
  • Citation
    Yao Y, Li J, Fang , Yu A, Liu B. Photocatalytic self-cleaning and recyclable AuNBPs@TiO2 SERS chip for trace detection and in situ monitoring of methylene blue degradation. Life Anal. 2026(2):0010, https://doi.org/10.55092/la20260010. 
  • DOI
    10.55092/la20260010
  • Copyright
    Copyright2026 by the authors. Published by ELSP.
Abstract

Recyclable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates integrating high sensitivity with effective photocatalytic self-cleaning capability are highly desirable for sustainable pollutant analysis, yet maintaining stable SERS activity during repeated photocatalytic regeneration remains challenging. Herein, a photocatalytic self-cleaning AuNBPs@TiO2 SERS chip was constructed by integrating plasmonic gold nanobipyramids with a photocatalytic TiO2 shell. By regulating the hydrolytic coating process, a uniform TiO2 shell with an optimized thickness of approximately 10 nm was obtained, providing a balance between SERS enhancement and photocatalytic activity. Using methylene blue (MB) as a model organic pollutant, the chip exhibited a wide linear detection range from 10 nM to 1 mM with a low limit of detection of 3.3 nM. The intra-chip and inter-batch relative standard deviations were below 10%, indicating good uniformity and reproducibility. Furthermore, time-dependent SERS spectra enabled in situ monitoring of MB photodegradation under xenon lamp irradiation, with degradation efficiencies exceeding 95% within 90 min for MB concentrations of 10⁻4−10⁻6 M. Independent UV-vis measurements further confirmed MB degradation, showing an 81.91% decrease after 90 min for 10⁻5 M MB. After 12 cycles, the chip retained approximately 72% of its initial SERS signal while maintaining a degradation efficiency above 90%. The AuNBPs@TiO2 chip offers a reusable SERS platform for sensitive MB detection and in situ monitoring of photocatalytic degradation, demonstrating the feasibility of integrating trace detection, photocatalytic regeneration, and repeated use within a single analytical platform.

Keywords

surface-enhanced Raman scattering; self-cleaning; photocatalytic degradation; in situ monitoring; organic pollutant

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