Density functional theory and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy studies on endocrine-disrupting chemical, dimethyl phthalate

A method to monitor endocrine-disrupting chemical contamination phthalate esters (PAEs) by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy has been investigated. The molecular structure and assignment of the vibrations of dimethyl phthalate (DMP), forming short chains in PAEs, has been studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The structure of DMP with the dihedral angles of 1C-6C-11C-13O and 4C-5C-18C-20O being 133.78° and −24.00°, respectively, has the lowest energy. Theoretical vibrational frequencies using B3LYP/6-31 + G(d) (after scaling) show excellent agreement with the experimental normal Raman spectrum. In the region 200–1800 cm−1, SERS spectra of DMP were measured using ordered gold nanosubstrates. All except the weak signals in the normal Raman spectrum of DMP were successfully enhanced. These results demonstrate that SERS technology could be developed as a rapid method for screening of DMP.