Iodine-mediated etching of gold nanorods for plasmonic sensing of dissolved oxygen and salt iodine.

Here, we have carefully investigated iodine-mediated etching of gold nanorods (AuNRs) in the presence of iodate and applied this phenomenon to on-site detection of dissolved oxygen (DO). Under given conditions, the quantitative conversion of target analytes DO to iodine leads to the etching of AuNRs along the longitudinal direction with the aid of cetyltrimethylammonium. As a result, the longitudinal localized surface plasmon resonance shifts to a short wavelength. The peak-shift can be used for quantitative determination of DO and iodate by a spectrophotometer. The satisfactory results from DO detection in different water samples and iodate detection in table salt indicate the feasibility of the proposed methods. Moreover, the as-prepared colorimetric test paper would make the detection more economical and simpler.