Gold nanoshells with magnetic cores and a urea-based receptor for SERS sensing of fluoride anions: experimental and computational study

The study demonstrates that a combination of plasmonic nanostructures and artificial receptors can be applied for sensing small molecular species. Gold nanoshells containing magnetic cores are used as the SERS-active substrates, which opens the way for the development of multimodal contrast agents with applicability extended to sensing or for the separation of analytes by magnetic solid-phase extraction. Disubstituted ureas forming hydrogen-bonded complexes with certain anions can be employed as molecular sensors. In this case study, gold nanoshells with silica-coated Mn-Zn ferrite cores were prepared by a multistep procedure. The nanoshells were co-functionalized with an N -(4-mercaptophenyl)- N ′-(4-nitrophenyl)urea sensor synthesized directly on the gold surface, and with 4-nitrothiophenol, which is adopted as an internal standard. SERS measurements were carried out with acetonitrile solutions of tetrabutylammonium fluoride (Bu 4 NF) over a concentration range of 10 −10 -10 −1 mol L −1 . The spectral response of the sensor is dependent on the fluoride concentration in the range of 10 −5 -10 −1 mol L −1 . To investigate further the SERS mechanism, a model sensor, N -(4-bromophenyl)- N ′-(4-nitrophenyl)urea, was synthesized and used in Raman spectroscopy with solutions of Bu 4 NF, up to a molar ratio of 1 : 20. The spectra and the interactions between the sensors and fluoride anions were also studied by extensive DFT computations. The study demonstrates that a combination of plasmonic nanostructures and artificial receptors can be applied for sensing small molecular species.