Rapid and Ultrasensitive Detection of Dioctyltin in Textiles Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS): Mechanistic Insights and Practical Applications

Organotin compounds (OTCs) are toxic pollutants threatening ecosystems and human health, among which dioctyltin (DOCT), widely used in skin-contact textiles, can induce immune dysfunction and metabolic disorders. Although DOCT levels in textiles are strictly regulated by international standards, traditional GC-MS suffers from cumbersome derivatization, unsatisfactory repeatability, and lengthy analysis, highlighting the urgent demand for a rapid and sensitive detection approach. Herein, we developed a fast SERS-based strategy for DOCT determination using size-optimized Au@Ag core-shell nanoparticles as the substrate, which offers simple pretreatment, high efficiency, good uniformity, and excellent reproducibility. The SERS spectra and functional group vibration modes of DOCT were elucidated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations combined with experimental validation, and the peak at 301 cm^-1 was identified as the characteristic peak for quantitative analysis. After extractant optimization, the method achieved a low LOD of 0.1 μg/L in real textile samples, with recoveries ranging from 86% to 108% and good linearity from 0.1 to 1000 μg/L (<i>R</i>² = 0.9804). This approach provides a reliable, high-sensitivity alternative for rapid monitoring of DOCT residues in textiles.