Gold recovery from waste printed circuit boards in a seawater-based lixiviant and conversion into SERS-active nanostructures: characterisation dataset

This dataset contains the characterisation data underpinning a preliminary study on the recovery of gold from waste printed circuit boards using a seawater-based lixiviant, and its direct conversion into gold nanostructures active in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Three gold precursors were reduced under the same photochemical protocol: a commercial HAuCl4 standard, an aqua regia leachate of waste printed circuit boards, and a seawater-based leachate of the same feedstock. The three precursors yielded different nanostructures, and the material obtained from the seawater leachate was validated as a SERS substrate for Rhodamine B detection. The deposit comprises SERS spectra, the analytical enhancement factor calculation, elemental analysis of the seawater matrix, electron microscopy images with size distributions, ultraviolet and visible absorption spectra, elemental analysis of the leachates, and dynamic light scattering and zeta potential measurements. A README file describes every file, the instrument used, and the acquisition conditions. These are preliminary data from ongoing work.