Complete carbohydrate-based synthetic strategy for an efficient plasmonic metal and alloy nanostructured SERS substrate

Abstract

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has grown to be one of the most effective spectroscopic methods with a wide range of applications since the discovery of enhanced spectrum of pyridine on a silver electrode. However, the challenges in fabricating an affordable, simple, and long-lasting substrate restricts its application in devices. In this study, we report for the first time on a novel, inexpensive polymer-based SERS substrate made by thermally evaporating colloidal solutions of metal and alloy nanoparticles over humid sheets of cellulose acetate (CA). Green synthetic strategies were adopted for preparing nanoparticles using glucose as the reducing agent and starch as the capping agent. Au, Ag and their alloys decorated CA sheets were prepared, and the nanoparticle formation is confirmed by UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy were used for the characterization of the nanoparticle decorated CA sheets. 1,4-benzenedithiol (1,4-BDT) is used as the Raman active molecule for SERS studies. A noticeably greater Raman enhancement was observed using these sheets, demonstrating the potential of these substrates for use in SERS-based devices.

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