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Wyss RM, Kewes G, Marabotti P, Koepfli SM, Schlichting KP, Parzefall M, Bonvin E, Sarott MF, Trassin M, Oezkent M, Lu CH, Gradwohl KP, Perrault T, Habibova L, Marcelli G, Giraldo M, Vermant J, Novotny L, Frimmer M, Weber MC, Heeg S. Bulk-suppressed and surface-sensitive Raman scattering by transferable plasmonic membranes with irregular slot-shaped nanopores. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5236. [PMID: 38897990 PMCID: PMC11187206 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49130-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Raman spectroscopy enables the non-destructive characterization of chemical composition, crystallinity, defects, or strain in countless materials. However, the Raman response of surfaces or thin films is often weak and obscured by dominant bulk signals. Here we overcome this limitation by placing a transferable porous gold membrane, (PAuM) on the surface of interest. Slot-shaped nanopores in the membrane act as plasmonic antennas and enhance the Raman response of the surface or thin film underneath. Simultaneously, the PAuM suppresses the penetration of the excitation laser into the bulk, efficiently blocking its Raman signal. Using graphene as a model surface, we show that this method increases the surface-to-bulk Raman signal ratio by three orders of magnitude. We find that 90% of the Raman enhancement occurs within the top 2.5 nm of the material, demonstrating truly surface-sensitive Raman scattering. To validate our approach, we quantify the strain in a 12.5 nm thin Silicon film and analyze the surface of a LaNiO3 thin film. We observe a Raman mode splitting for the LaNiO3 surface-layer, which is spectroscopic evidence that the surface structure differs from the bulk. These results validate that PAuM gives direct access to Raman signatures of thin films and surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman M Wyss
- Institut für Physik und IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489, Berlin, Germany
- Soft Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Günter Kewes
- Institut für Physik und IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489, Berlin, Germany
| | - Pietro Marabotti
- Institut für Physik und IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan M Koepfli
- Institute of Electromagnetic Fields (IEF), ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Karl-Philipp Schlichting
- Laboratory of Thermodynamics in Emerging Technologies Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Eric Bonvin
- Photonics Lab, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Martin F Sarott
- Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Morgan Trassin
- Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Chen-Hsun Lu
- Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung, 12489, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Thomas Perrault
- Institut des Molécules et Matériaux du Mans, UMR 6283 CNRS, Le Mans Université, 72085, Le Mans, France
| | - Lala Habibova
- Institut für Physik und IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489, Berlin, Germany
| | - Giorgia Marcelli
- Institut für Physik und IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marcela Giraldo
- Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Jan Vermant
- Soft Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Mads C Weber
- Institut des Molécules et Matériaux du Mans, UMR 6283 CNRS, Le Mans Université, 72085, Le Mans, France
| | - Sebastian Heeg
- Institut für Physik und IRIS Adlershof, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489, Berlin, Germany.
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González-Martínez E, Rekas A, Moran-Mirabal J. Simple and Inexpensive Fabrication of High Surface-Area Paper-Based Gold Electrodes for Electrochemical and Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Sensing. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:55183-55192. [PMID: 37972391 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c15224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Paper has emerged as an excellent alternative to create environmentally benign disposable electrochemical sensing devices. The critical step to fabricating electrochemical sensors is making paper conductive. In this work, paper-based electrodes with a high electroactive surface area (ESA) were fabricated using a simple electroless deposition technique. The polymerization time of a polydopamine adhesion layer and the gold salt concentration during the electroless deposition step were optimized to obtain uniformly conductive paper-based electrodes. The optimization of these fabrication parameters was key to obtaining the highest ESA possible. Roughening factors (Rf) of 7.2 and 2.3 were obtained when cyclic voltammetry was done in sulfuric acid and potassium ferricyanide, respectively, demonstrating a surface prone to fast electron transfer. As a proof of concept, mercury detection was done through anodic stripping, achieving a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.9 ppb. By changing the metal deposition conditions, the roughness of the metalized papers could also be tuned for their use as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors. Metallized papers with the highest SERS signal for thiophenol detection yielded a LOQ of 10 ppb. We anticipate that this method of fabricating nanostructured paper-based electrodes can accelerate the development of simple, cost-effective, and highly sensitive electrochemical and SERS sensing platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Adrianna Rekas
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1, Canada
| | - Jose Moran-Mirabal
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1, Canada
- Centre for Advanced Light Microscopy, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1, Canada
- Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1, Canada
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Tang L, Liao C, Guo Y, Zhang Y. Controllable Preparation of Ag-SiO 2 Composite Nanoparticles and Their Applications in Fluorescence Enhancement. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 16:201. [PMID: 36614539 PMCID: PMC9821964 DOI: 10.3390/ma16010201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Metal nanoparticles have attracted a great deal of interest due to their unique properties of surface plasmon resonance. Metal nanoparticles can enhance the fluorescence emission intensity of quantum dots (QDs) through the local surface plasmon resonance effect, which is mainly determined by the distance between them. Therefore, it is very important to achieve controllable distance between metal and QDs, and study fluorescence enhancement. In this work, the controllable adjustment of the distance between metal nanoparticles and QDs was successfully realized by controlling the thickness of the SiO2 shell of Ag@SiO2 nanoparticles. Firstly, Ag nanoparticles with uniform size distribution and relatively high concentration were prepared, and then the thickness of the SiO2 shell was controlled by controlling the amount of tetra-ethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in the hydrolysis of TEOS reaction. (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APS) was used to connect CdS/ZnS QDs with Ag@SiO2 nanoparticles to form Ag@SiO2@CdS/ZnS QD composite nanoparticles. The fluorescence spectra shows that the fluorescence intensity of the Ag@SiO2@CdS/ZnS QD composite nanoparticles is significantly enhanced. Photoexcitation spectra and fluorescence spectra of CdS/ZnS QD and Ag@SiO2@CdS/ZnS QD composite nanoparticles, measured under different energy excitation conditions, indicate that the existence of Ag nanoparticles can enhance the fluorescence intensity of CdS/ZnS QDs. Finally, a further physical mechanism of fluorescence enhancement is revealed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luping Tang
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
- SEU-FEI Nano-Pico Center, Key Lab of MEMS of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Chen Liao
- College of Electronic and Optical Engineering & College of Flexible Electronics (Future Technology), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Yingqing Guo
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Yangyang Zhang
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
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