Portable SERS sensing of volatile aldehydes in alcohols by aldol condensation reaction on liquid interfacial plasmonic arrays.

An aldol condensation reaction on oil-in-water (O/W) liquid interfacial plasmonic arrays was developed for sensing volatile aldehydes in alcohols by using an aromatic aldehyde as the probe for portable SERS assays. The detection limit was 10 M. The substrate exhibited an RSD value of 6.9%, and the probe showed good selectivity to four common interferences.