Surface Plasmon Resonance in Electrospun Nanofiber Biosorbent Scaffolds for Selective Ion Sensing

PROBLEM: A plasmonic nanofiber sensor must respond selectively and quickly, yet fiber diameter, pore structure, and plasmonic particle placement all vary across electrospun batches. A fast optical response is only useful if it can be traced to the target ion rather than to a change in fiber wetting or fouling. Sensor developers need a shared, governed place to compare fiber recipes against DFT predictions and measured isotherms.

SOLUTION: IBM Cloud Ideas would host a governed capability registry for plasmon-enhanced electrospun ion sensors, linking each fiber recipe and plasmonic placement to its DFT binding prediction, its batch-isotherm validation, and its regeneration and energy-budget record. The workspace would require reuse accounting for every sensor mat and keep low-temperature, water-based steps visible.

EVIDENCE BASIS: DOCUMENTED — surface plasmon resonance is collective electron oscillation at metal–dielectric interfaces, with field enhancement for sensing; electrospun nanofiber scaffolds are high-surface-area fiber mats; DFT (Kohn–Sham equation) predicts binding; biosorption is validated by qe = (C0 − Ce)V/m and Langmuir/Freundlich isotherms. Source: Hohenberg–Kohn 1964; Kohn–Sham 1965; standard biosorption textbooks.