Improved surfaced-enhanced Raman scattering based on electrochemically roughened silver substrates modified through argon plasma treatment

SERS Sensing of Dopamine with Fe(III)-Sensitized Nanogaps in Recleanable AuNP Monolayer Films

Sensing of neurotransmitters (NTs) down to nm concentrations is demonstrated by utilizing self-assembled monolayers of plasmonic 60 nm Au nanoparticles in close-packed arrays immobilized onto glass substrates. Multiplicative surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy enhancements are achieved by integrating Fe(III) sensitizers into the precisely-defined <1 nm nanogaps, to target dopamine (DA) sensing. The transparent glass substrates allow for efficient access from both sides of the monolayer aggregate films by fluid and light, allowing repeated sensing in different analytes. Repeated reusability after analyte sensing is shown through oxygen plasma cleaning protocols, which restore pristine conditions for the nanogaps. Examining binding competition in multiplexed sensing of two catecholamine NTs, DA and epinephrine, reveals their bidentate binding and their interactions. These systems are promising for widespread microfluidic integration enabling a wide range of continuous biofluid monitoring for applications in precision health.

Enhancing the Activity of Silver Nanowire Membranes by Electrochemical Cyclic Voltammetry as Highly Sensitive Flexible SERS Substrate for On-Site Analysis

The development of high-quality flexible surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates is crucial for developing rapid SERS analysis in situ. Silver nanowire membranes as novel flexible substrates could benefit from the high collection efficiency of analytes by wrapping complex surfaces or wiping the surfaces of samples. However, their low SERS performance impedes further applications of silver nanowire membranes in analyte detection. Herein, we report an ultra-high-sensitivity silver nanowire membrane synthesized by a simple and time-saving cyclic voltammetry (CV) method. After CV treatment, a part of the silver nanowires on the silver nanowire membrane turned into small nanoparticles and nanorods. This nanostructure’s reconstitution increased the analytical enhancement factor of silver nanowire membranes by 14.4 times. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were employed to investigate the transformation in the membrane nanostructure. The CV-treated substrates exhibited high surface-enhanced Raman activity and good temporal stability. The limits of detection (LODs) for p-aminothiophenol, crystal violet, tetramethylthiuram disulfide, sodium perchlorate, malachite green, fluoranthene, and potassium nitrate are 3.7 × 10⁻¹² M, 5.1 × 10⁻¹¹ M, 5.4 × 10⁻¹¹ M, 6.3 × 10⁻⁹ M, 0.00693 ng, 0.0810 ng, and 0.0273 ng on this substrate, respectively. Additionally, the developed substrate is feasible for the detection of crystal violet in real samples. These results certify that CV-treated substrates possess broad application prospects in on-site SERS analysis.

A microfluidic bioreactor with in situ SERS imaging for the study of controlled flow patterns of biofilm precursor materials

A microfluidic bioreactor with an easy to fabricate nano-plasmonic surface is demonstrated for studies of biofilms and their precursor materials via Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). The system uses a novel design to induce sheath flow confinement of a sodium citrate biofilm precursor stream against the SERS imaging surface to measure spatial variations in the concentration profile. The unoptimised SERS enhancement was approximately 2.5 × 10⁴, thereby improving data acquisition time, reducing laser power requirements and enabling a citrate detection limit of 0.1 mM, which was well below the concentrations used in biofilm nutrient solutions. The flow confinement was observed by both optical microscopy and SERS imaging with good complementarity. We demonstrate the new bioreactor by growing flow-templated biofilms on the microchannel wall. This work opens the way for in situ spectral imaging of biofilms and their biochemical environment under dynamic flow conditions.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering-active Au/SiO2 nanocomposites prepared using sonoelectrochemical pulse deposition methods

For improving signals, reproducibility, and stabilities of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), numerous technologies have recently been reported in the literature. However, the fabrication processes are usually complicated. It is well-known that nanoparticles (NPs) of Au and SiO(2) are SERS active and inactive materials, respectively. In this work, a simple synthesis route based on sonoelectrochemical pulse deposition (SEPD) methods has been developed to synthesize effectively SERS-active Au/SiO(2) nanocomposites (NCs) with an enhancement factor of 5.4 × 10(8). Experimental results indicate that pH value of solution and addition of SiO(2) NPs before and after oxidation-reduction cycles (ORCs) can significantly influence the corresponding SERS activities. Encouragingly, the SERS of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) adsorbed on the developed Au/SiO(2) NCs exhibits a higher intensity by more than 1 order of magnitude, as compared with that of R6G adsorbed on Au NPs synthesized using the same method. Moreover, this improved SERS activity is successfully verified from the mechanisms of electromagnetic (EM) and chemical (CHEM) enhancements.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering-active gold nanoparticles modified with a monolayer of silver film

As shown in the literature, electrochemical underpotential deposition (UPD) offers the ability to deposit up to a monolayer of one metal onto a more noble metal with a flat surface. In this work, we develop an electrochemical pathway to prepare more surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active substrates with Ag UPD-modified Au nanoparticles (NPs) by using sonoelectrochemical deposition-dissolution cycles (SEDDCs). Encouragingly, the SERS of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) adsorbed on these Ag UPD-modified Au NPs exhibits a higher intensity by ca. 12-fold magnitude, as compared with that of R6G adsorbed on unmodified Au NPs. The prepared SERS-active substrate demonstrates a large Raman scattering enhancement for R6G with a detection limit of 2 × 10(-14) M and an enhancement factor of 5.0 × 10(8). Also, the strategy proposed in this work to improve the SERS effects by using UPD Ag based on SEDDCs has an effect on the smaller probe molecules of 2,2'-bipyridine (BPy).