Silver nanostars arrayed on GO/MWCNT composite membranes for enrichment and SERS detection of polystyrene nanoplastics in water

Nanoplastic water contamination has become a critical environmental issue, highlighting the need for rapid and sensitive detection of nanoplastics. In this study, we aimed to prepare a graphene oxide (GO)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)–silver nanostar (AgNS) multifunctional membrane using a simple vacuum filtration method for the enrichment and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection of polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics in water. AgNSs, selected for the size and shape of nanoplastics, have numerous exposed Raman hotspots on their surface, which exert a strong electromagnetic enhancement effect. AgNSs were filter-arrayed on GO/MWCNT composite membranes with excellent enrichment ability and chemical enhancement effects, resulting in the high sensitivity of GO/MWCNT–AgNS membranes. When the water samples flowed through the portable filtration device with GO/MWCNT–AgNS membranes, PS nanoplastics could be effectively enriched, and the retention rate for 50 nm PS nanoplastics was 97.1 %. Utilizing the strong SERS effect of the GO/MWCNT–AgNS membrane, we successfully detected PS nanoparticles with particle size in the range of 50–1000 nm and a minimum detection concentration of 5 × 10−5 mg/mL. In addition, we detected 50, 100, and 200 nm PS nanoplastics at concentrations as low as 5 × 10−5 mg/mL in real water samples using spiking experiments. These results indicate that the GO/MWCNT–AgNS membranes paired with a portable filtration device and Raman spectrometer can effectively enrich and rapidly detect PS nanoplastics in water, which has great potential for on-site sensitive water quality safety evaluation.