Highly sensitive and recyclable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates based on photocatalytic activity of ZnSe nanowires

The semiconductor-based SERS substrates have attracted considerable attention due to their unique optical and reusable biosensor applications. However, most substrates generally exhibit poor enhancement effects and are non-reusable, needing a complicated fabrication process. In the present study, novel recyclable SERS substrates were synthesized from ZnSe nanowires using chemical vapor deposition. SERS performance was enhanced via introducing the defects by adding Se dopant in the ZnSe and achieved the value of EF 6.92 × 10⁷ for the Zn/Se ratio 1:1.2. The SERS efficiency of the fabricated ZnSe nanowire was probed by rhodamine 6 G (R6G) and methylene blue (MB), presenting excellent stability and reaching the sensitivity level of 10⁻¹¹ M. The photocatalytic degradation of R6G molecules were experimentally investigated with Raman mapping tests using a visible light source to explore the recyclability of the SERS substrates. Our study demonstrates that the proposed ZnSe nanostructure possesses the capability to reuse up to 6 times with preserving strong SERS signal reproducibility. The bifunctional recyclable ZnSe substrate not only presents a novel method to truly enhance the SERS performance, photocatalytic behavior but is also considerable for food safety application.