Clopyralid is a common herbicide used all around the world that can be dissolved in the rain stream and
accumulate in underground water with the potential threat of reaching drinking water. Many methodologies
have been proposed to perform quantitative analysis of this compound but, to this day, no Raman detection of
clopyralid has been carried out. Here, a novel methodology to quantify clopyralid, based on Electrochemical
Surface Oxidation-Enhanced Raman Scattering (EC-SOERS), is developed, using disposable silver screen-printed
electrodes as substrate. The optimization of the electrolytic media is carried out, searching for the conditions
where a maximum Raman enhancement is obtained. Moreover, a study about the effect of various interfering
compounds, which could be present in water, on the clopyralid Raman response is performed. The results
demonstrate that the presented methodology allows the determination of clopyralid in the micromolar range in
tap water without any purification or preconcentration step, requiring few minutes to perform the measurement
of each sample.
