A novel natural surface-enhanced fluorescence system based on reed leaf as substrate for crystal violet trace detection

The preparation of surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF) substrates is often influenced by experimental strategies and factors such as the morphology and size of the nanostructures. In this study, using the natural reed leaves (RLs) without any special pretreatment as the substrate, metal silver is modified by magnetron sputtering technology to prepare a stable and efficient SEF system. The abundant “hedgehog-like” protrusions on the RL substrate surface can generate high-density “hot spots”, thus enhancement factor (EF) is enhanced up to 3345 times. The stability and reproducibility are verified in many measurements. The contribution of the intervention of silver nanostructure to the radiation attenuation process of fluorescent molecules is analyzed with the aid of Jablonski diagrams. Three-dimensional (3D) finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulates the spatial electric field and “hot spots” distribution of the substrate. The “hedgehog-like” protrusion structure generates multiple “hot spots”, which produce an excellent local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect and provide higher fluorescence signal. Finally, RL/Ag-35 substrate is used to detect crystal violet (CV), and the detection limit is as low as 10 −13 M. This “hedgehog-like” SEF substrate provides a new strategy for the trace detection of CV, which has a good practical application value.