Recent progress in detection of mercury using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy — A review

Concerns over exposure to mercury have motivated the exploration of cost-effective,rapid,and reliable method for monitoring Hg2+ in the environment.Recently,surface-enhanced Raman scattering（SERS） has become a promising alternative method for Hg2+ analysis.SERS is a spectroscopic technique which combines modern laser spectroscopy with the optical properties of nano-sized noble metal structures,resulting in substantially increased Raman signals.When Hg2+ is in a close contact with metallic nanostructures,the SERS effect provides unique structural information together with ultrasensitive detection limits.This review introduces the principles and contemporary approaches of SERS-based Hg2+detection.In addition,the perspective and challenges are briefly discussed.