Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Detection of Arsenic Ions in Aqueous Solution using Synthesized Sulfosalicylic Acid Functionalized Silver Nanoparticles

For maintaining water quality, planning remediation strategies, and ecosystem restoration works, detecting metal ions in aquatic water bodies is critical. Plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy using plasmonic particles tailored and decorated by organic molecules provides promising, simple, portable, robust, and economically viable sensing systems for metal ions in the field or point-of-care settings. For this, silver nanoparticles functionalized with sulfosalicylic acid (SSA-AgNPs) have been synthesized by chemical reduction methods for the detection of Arsenic [As (V)] ions in aqueous solution using the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique. The addition of metal ions to the SSA-AgNPs solution induces alterations in the spectral features of the peaks of SSA-AgNPs. In addition, they also lead to the formation of new characteristic bands. A significant enhancement in the intensity has been observed for these bands in the form of SERS signals. These peculiar characteristic peaks can be used for the detection of As (V) ions in an aqueous solution. This study demonstrates the applicability of SSA-AgNPs as plasmon-enhancing spectroscopy agents for the simple, prompt, easily accessible, and portable detection of metal ion pollution in an aqueous medium.