SERS Detection of Trace Carcinogenic Aromatic Amines Based on Amorphous MoO3 Monolayers

Abstract Aromatic amines are important commercial chemicals, but their carcinogenicity poses a threat to humans and other organisms, making their rapid quantitative detection increasingly urgent. Here, amorphous MoO 3 (a‐MoO 3 ) monolayers with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect in the visible region are designed for the trace detection of carcinogenic aromatic amine molecules. The hot‐electron fast decay component of a‐MoO 3 decreases from 301 fs to 150 fs after absorption with methyl orange (MO) molecules, indicating the plasmon‐induced hot‐electron transfer (PIHET) process from a‐MoO 3 to MO. Therefore, a‐MoO 3 monolayers present high SERS performance due to the synergistic effect of electromagnetic enhancement (EM) and PIHET, proposing the EM‐PIHET synergistic mechanism in a‐MoO 3 . In addition, a‐MoO 3 possesses higher electron delocalization and electronic state density than crystal MoO 3 (c‐MoO 3 ), which is conducive to the PIHET. The limit of detection (LOD) for o‐aminoazotoluene (o‐AAT) is 10 −9 M with good uniformity, acid resistance, and thermal stability. In this work, trace detection and identification of various carcinogenic aromatic amines based on a‐MoO 3 monolayers is realized, which is of great significance for reducing cancer infection rates.