So2 Detection Using Plasmon Damping

Abstract

The distinct optical properties of noble metal nanoparticles that stem from localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) have fascinated scientists for centuries. In recent years, frequency-shift LSPR sensors have been receiving intense attention for chemical/biological sensing. In this work, an SO2 nanosensor based on a unique sensing mechanism, called hybrid plasmon damping, is developed. The active component of the sensor is a self-assembled monolayer of silver nanoparticles immobilized on a Si film. Nanoparticle synthesis is simple and low-cost, involving immersion of a Si thin film in a AgNO3 solution. In addition, the sensor response is monitored in real-time by a hand-held UV-vis spectrometer. The optical extinction spectrum of the nanoparticles reports increase in the LSPR bandwidth that is primarily due to chemical interface damping, caused by adsorption of SO2. This adsorbate-induced increase in damping (ΔГ) is demonstrated to be linearly proportional to the number of SO2 molecules attached to the nanoparticle surface. Therefore, the increase in damping (i.e., LSPR bandwidth) is exploited to quantify the SO2 concentration. The sensor detects 1 ppm SO2 in less than a second and at an accuracy of 94.3 %. The present work also elucidates the chemisorption configurations of SO2 to the Ag nanoparticles by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.