Semiconductor-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensing platforms: State of the art, applications and prospects in food safety

In the past decade, semiconductor-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates have evoked substantial intrigue in the field of food analysis by virtue of their unique properties including low-cost, high specificity and rapid response performance. It is practical significance to give a critical summary on development of semiconductor-based SERS platforms in the field of food safety. This work comprehensively reviewed the advances of semiconductor-based SERS substrates in academic and industrial applications, and especially elaborated their applications in the field of emerging food safety monitoring. The types and design strategies of semiconductor-based substrates were systematically summarized, and their performances and mechanisms in chemical sensing are studied. Attentions were mainly focused on the applications of the semiconductor-based SERS platforms in monitoring typical food contaminants. Also, conclusions, challenges and future prospects of the semiconductor-based SERS platforms applied in food safety were thoroughly discussed and proposed. Semiconductor-based SERS substrates have better selectivity, reproducibility, and biocompatibility than that of plasmonic metals-based substrates, which contribute to greatly expanding their practical application scope in the field of food safety. In the future, the new generation of portable SERS sensors based plasmonic metals/semiconductor composite substrates will be a focus of research in the field of food safety. Clear mechanism and ingenious integrated design contribute to development of portable and reliable intelligent SERS devices, which will effectively promote the industrial application of semiconductor-based SERS sensors.