Quantitative Determination of the Surface Concentration of Phenazine Adsorbed on Silver Colloidal Particles and Relationship with the SERS Enhancement Factor

Laser-Synthesized SERS Substrates as Sensors toward Therapeutic Drug Monitoring

The synthesis by pulsed laser ablation and the characterization of both the surface nanostructure and the optical properties of noble metal nanoparticle-based substrates used in Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy are discussed with reference to application in the detection of anti-epileptic drugs. Results on two representative drugs, namely Carbamazepine and Perampanel, are critically addressed.

How hottest geometries and adsorptive parameters influence the SER(R)S spectra of Methylene Blue molecules adsorbed on nanocolloidal gold particles of varied sizes?

The SER(R)S spectra of Methylene Blue (MB) molecule adsorbed on gold nanocolloidal particles (AuNCs) have been investigated. The adsorptive parameters of the molecule adsorbed on AuNCs have been evaluated with the aid of Fluorescence Spectroscopy study. Fluorescence spectroscopic studies have been further applied to understand the concentration of probe molecule actually adsorbed on AuNC surfaces. Gigantic enhancements ∼10(6)-10(16) orders of magnitude have been recorded for the enhanced Raman bands in the SER(R)S spectra. Three-dimensional Finite Difference Time Domain (3D-FDTD) simulations studies have been carried out to predict the distributions of electric fields around the possible nanoaggregated hot geometries considered to be responsible for the huge enhancements of SER(R)S bands of the MB molecule.

Towards improved precision in the quantification of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement factors: a renewed approach

This paper demonstrates a renewed procedure for the quantification of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement factors with improved precision. The principle of this method relies on deducting the resonance Raman scattering (RRS) contribution from surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) to end up with the surface enhancement (SERS) effect alone. We employed 1,8,15,22-tetraaminophthalocyanato-cobalt(II) (4α-Co(II)TAPc), a resonance Raman- and electrochemically redox-active chromophore, as a probe molecule for RRS and SERRS experiments. The number of 4α-Co(II)TAPc molecules contributing to RRS and SERRS phenomena on plasmon inactive glassy carbon (GC) and plasmon active GC/Au surfaces, respectively, has been precisely estimated by cyclic voltammetry experiments. Furthermore, the SERS substrate enhancement factor (SSEF) quantified by our approach is compared with the traditionally employed methods. We also demonstrate that the present approach of SSEF quantification can be applied for any kind of different SERS substrates by choosing an appropriate laser line and probe molecule.

Adsorption of p-nitrothiophenol on mesostructured polyoxometalate–silicate–surfactant composites containing Au nanoparticles: study of surface-enhanced Raman scattering activity

When DMAB-functionalized Au-NPs@EPSS acts as the SERS substrate, the detection sensitivity of p-NTP molecules increases by ∼6 times compared with as-synthesized Au-NPs@EPSS.

Gold nanostars as SERS-active substrates for FT-Raman spectroscopy

Surfactant-free and CTAB-stabilized gold nanostars were synthesized. Their FT-SERS activity was tested. A nanomolar limit of detection and a Raman enhancement factor of more than 10⁵ were found.

Self-assembled metal colloid films: two approaches for preparing new SERS active substrates

In this paper, we propose two new approaches for preparing active substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). In the first approach (method 1), one transfers AgI nanoparticles capped by negatively charged mercaptoacetic acid from a AgI colloid solution onto a quartz slide and then deoxidizes AgI to Ag nanoparticles on the substrate. The second approach (method 2) deoxidizes AgI to Ag nanoparticles in a colloid solution and then transfers the Ag nanoparticles capped by negatively charged mercaptoacetic acid onto a quartz slide. By transfer of the AgI/Ag nanoparticles from the colloid solutions to the solid substrates, the problem of instability of the colloid solutions can largely be overcome. The films thus prepared by both approaches retain the merits of metal colloid solutions while they discharge their shortcomings. Accordingly, the obtained Ag particle films are very suitable as SERS active substrates. SERS active substrates with different coverages can be formed in a layer-by-layer electrostatic assembly by exposing positively charged surfaces to the colloid solutions containing oppositely charged AgI/Ag nanoparticles. The SERS active substrates fabricated by the two novel methods have been characterized by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. The results of AFM and UV-vis spectroscopy show that the Ag nanoparticles grow with the increase in the number of coverage and that most of them remain isolated even at high coverages. Consequently, the surface optical properties are dominated by the absorption due to the isolated Ag nanoparticles. The relationship between SERS intensity and surface morphology of the new active substrates has been investigated for Rhodamine 6G (R6G) adsorbed on them. It has been found that the SERS enhancement depends on the size and aggregation of the Ag particles on the substrates. Especially, we can obtain a stronger SERS signal from the substrate prepared by method 1, implying that for the metal nanoparticles capped with stabilizer molecules such as mercaptoacetic acid, the in situ deoxidization in the film is of great use in preparing SERS active substrates. Furthermore, we have found that the addition of Cl- into the AgI colloid solution changes the surface morphology of the SERS active substrates and favors stronger SERS enhancement.

Assignment of charge transfer absorption band in optical absorption spectra of the adsorbate-silver colloid system

In this paper we reported the UV-visible-NIR optical absorption properties of silver colloid, employed as a high efficient substrate in surface-enhanced Raman spectra (SERS), under various conditions. Experimental results revealed that the new absorption band, usually appearing in the longer wavelength region due to the addition of molecules, was related to the direct adsorption of molecules on colloidal silver surface. When the adsorption occurred, this new band would appear. Once the molecules were desorbed from silver surface, the new band could not be observed. Some evidences inferred that the new absorption band was associated with the effect of charge-transfer transition between adsorbates and colloidal silver particles, while not with the effect of the surface plasma resonance due to the silver particles aggregation which was usually attributed to in previous research work.