Surface-enhanced Raman scattering activities and recyclability of Ag-incorporated WO3 nanofiber-based substrates

Electrospun Ag-incorporated WO3 nanofibers were prepared as recyclable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. The entangled mats of the nanofibers offered large specific surface areas with the Raman hotspots expanded in the third dimension. Their SERS activities were measured using methylene blue (MB) as a test substance. The substrates yielded an enhancement factor of 6.2 × 105 and exhibited good reproducibility (RSD of 10.35 %). The limit of detection (LOD) was found to be 10−5 M. The resulting nanofibers showed recyclability induced by photocatalytic degradation of adsorbed MB molecules under visible light. The Ag-incorporated WO3 nanofibers demonstrate themselves as promising platforms for the development of large-scale SERS substrates with recyclability and high-density hotspots.