The combination of electrochemistry (EC) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has received growing attention over the past several years due to the powerful features associated with the EC-SERS effect. In particular, the electrochemical activation of metal electrodes allows the generation of SERS substrates which in turn enhance the Raman intensity in a single experiment.
Many electrochemical methods have been developed but are traditionally limited to aqueous media. Raman spectroelectrochemistry in organic solutions is an interesting alternative, but developing new EC-SERS procedures is still required.
This Application Note demonstrates that the electrochemical activation of gold and silver electrodes enables the detection of dyes and pesticides in organic media.