T. Murphy et al., Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) system for continuous measurements of chemicals in sea-water, J RAMAN SP, 31(10), 2000, pp. 943-948
A laboratory-based system for measurement of chemicals in sea-water with so
l-gel-derived surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates is presen
ted, The motivation behind this work was the development of a marinized pro
totype sensor. A long-term spectral stability of better than 1 cm(-1) over
a period of several months was observed, Photodegradation of the SERS layer
was avoided by the choice of optical components and layout, Dielectric edg
e filters and holographic notch filters were compared. Coated fibres were t
ested and results are discussed in terms of fibre choice, reduction of back
ground signal, sensitivity and time response. Continuous analysis was perfo
rmed with two how-through cells, the first a modification to a standard gla
ss cuvette and the second an improved in-house-constructed aluminium cell,
SERS investigations on samples whose turbidity ranged from 0 to 400 NTU wer
e performed with both cells, These tests show the suitability of the develo
ped system for continuous monitoring of real samples and possible applicati
on in on-line process control. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.