A recyclable graphene/Ag/TiO2 SERS substrate with high stability and reproducibility for detection of dye molecules

Magnetron sputtering combined with the wet chemical transfer of graphene successfully prepared a multilayer composite material and an efficient photocatalytic renewable SERS substrate. It has excellent photocatalytic activity against dye molecules.

Silver Flowerlike Structures for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Micro- and nanoflowers are a class of materials composed of particles with high surface-to-volume ratio. They have been extensively studied in the last decade due to simple preparation protocols and promising applications in biosensing, as drug delivery agents, for water purification, and so on. Flowerlike objects, due to their highly irregular surface, may act also as plasmonic materials, providing resonant coupling between optical waves and surface plasmon excitations. This fact allows us to infer the possibility to use micro- and nanoflowers as effective surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate materials. Here, we report on the design and Raman enhancement properties of silver flowerlike structures, deposited on aluminum surface. A simple and cost-effective fabrication method is described, which leads to SERS substrates of high developed surface area. The morphology of the silver flowers on a nanoscale is characterized by self-organized quasiperiodic stacks of nanosheets, which act as plasmonic cavity resonators. The substrates were tested against rhodamine-6G (R6G) water solutions of concentration varying between 10⁻³ M and 10⁻⁷ M. Optimal SERS enhancement factors of up to 10⁵ were established at R6G concentrations in the 10⁻⁶–10⁻⁷ M range.

TiO2 and Au-TiO2 Nanomaterials for Rapid Photocatalytic Degradation of Antibiotic Residues in Aquaculture Wastewater

Antibiotic residues in aquaculture wastewater are considered as an emerging environmental problem, as they are not efficiently removed in wastewater treatment plants. To address this issue, we fabricated TiO₂ nanotube arrays (TNAs), TiO₂ nanowires on nanotube arrays (TNWs/TNAs), Au nanoparticle (NP)-decorated-TNAs, and TNWs/TNAs, which were applied for assessing the photocatalytic degradation of eight antibiotics, simultaneously. The TNAs and TNWs/TNAs were synthesized by anodization using an aqueous NH₄F/ethylene glycol solution. Au NPs were synthesized by chemical reduction method, and used to decorate on TNAs and TNWs/TNAs. All the TiO₂ nanostructures exhibited anatase phase and well-defined morphology. The photocatalytic performance of TNAs, TNWs/TNAs, Au-TNAs and Au-TNWs/TNAs was studied by monitoring the degradation of amoxicillin, ampicillin, doxycycline, oxytetracycline, lincomycin, vancomycin, sulfamethazine, and sulfamethoxazole under ultraviolet (UV)-visible (VIS), or VIS illumination by LC-MS/MS method. All the four kinds of nanomaterials degraded the antibiotics effectively and rapidly, in which most antibiotics were removed completely after 20 min treatment. The Au-TNWs/TNAs exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity in degradation of the eight antibiotics. For example, reaction rate constants of Au-TNWs/TNAs for degradation of lincomycin reached 0.26 min⁻¹ and 0.096 min⁻¹ under UV-VIS and VIS irradiation, respectively; and they were even higher for the other antibiotics. The excellent photocatalytic activity of Au-TNWs/TNAs was attributed to the synergistic effects of: (1) The larger surface area of TNWs/TNAs as compared to TNAs, and (2) surface plasmonic effect in Au NPs to enhance the visible light harvesting.

Robust, reproducible, recyclable SERS substrates: monolayers of gold nanostars grafted on glass and coated with a thin silica layer

We prepared and characterized recyclable surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) active glass chips. Gold nanostars were grafted on properly functionalized glasses by means of electrostatic interactions and then they were coated with a silica layer of controllable thickness in the nanometer range. The SERS activity of the obtained substrates were tested in terms of reproducibility and homogeneity intra-samples and inter-samples from different batches using the Raman reporter as the model compound rhodamine 6G. The uncoated substrates were used as reference to evaluate the effect of silica spacers on SERS enhancement factors (EFs). The chemical route to obtain silica-coated SERS chips is described in detail, and the morphology and the optical response of substrates have been characterized. We demonstrate that SERS substrates coated with 1 nm silica conserve a good EF, and that the coating confers to the SERS platform an extreme robustness leading to reusability of the substrates.

Plasmonic-Photonic Interference Coupling in Submicrometer Amorphous TiO2-Ag Nanoarchitectures

In this study, we report the crystallinity effects of submicrometer titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanotube (TNT) incorporated with silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensitivity. Furthermore, we demonstrate the SERS behaviors dependent on the plasmonic-photonic interference coupling (P-PIC) in the TNT-AgNP nanoarchitectures. Amorphous TNTs (A-TNTs) are synthesized through a two-step anodization on titanium (Ti) substrate, and crystalline TNTs (C-TNTs) are then prepared by using thermal annealing process at 500 °C in air. After thermally evaporating 20 nm thick Ag on TNTs, we investigate SERS signals according to the crystallinity and P-PIC on our TNT-AgNP nanostructures. (A-TNTs)-AgNP substrates show dramatically enhanced SERS performance as compared to (C-TNTs)-AgNP substrates. We attribute the high enhancement on (A-TNTs)-AgNP substrates with electron confinement at the interface between A-TNTs and AgNPs as due to the high interfacial barrier resistance caused by band edge positions. Moreover, the TNT length variation in (A-TNTs)-AgNP nanostructures results in different constructive or destructive interference patterns, which in turn affects the P-PIC. Finally, we could understand the significant dependency of SERS intensity on P-PIC in (A-TNTs)-AgNP nanostructures. Our results thus might provide a suitable design for a myriad of applications of enhanced EM on plasmonic-integrated devices.

Reduced Ensemble Plasmon Line Widths and Enhanced Two-Photon Luminescence in Anodically Formed High Surface Area Au-TiO2 3D Nanocomposites

Localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) in TiO₂ nanorod and nanotube arrays decorated by gold nanoparticles can be exploited to improve photocatalytic activity, enhance nonlinear optical coefficients, and increase light harvesting in solar cells. However, the LSPR typically has a low quality factor, and the resonance is often obscured by the Urbach tail of the TiO₂ band gap absorption. Attempts to increase the LSPR extinction intensity by increasing the density of gold nanoparticles on the surface of the TiO₂ nanostructures invariably produce peak broadening due to the effects of either agglomeration or polydispersity. We present a new class of hybrid nanostructures containing gold nanoparticles (NPs) partially embedded in nanoporous/nanotubular TiO₂ by performing the anodization of cosputtered Ti-Au thin films containing a relatively high ratio of Au:Ti. Our method of anodizing thin film stacks containing alternate layers of Ti and TiAu results in very distinctive LSPR peaks with quality factors as high as 6.9 and ensemble line widths as small as 0.33 eV even in the presence of an Urbach tail. Unusual features in the anodization of such films are observed and explained, including oscillatory current transients and the observation of coherent heterointerfaces between the Au NPs and anatase TiO₂. We further show that such a plasmonic NP-embedded nanotube structure dramatically outperforms a plasmonic NP-decorated anodic nanotube structure in terms of the extinction coefficient, and achieves a strongly enhanced two-photon fluorescence due to the high density of gold nanoparticles in the composite film and the plasmonic local field enhancement.

A sensitive, uniform, reproducible and stable SERS substrate has been presented based on MoS2@Ag nanoparticles@pyramidal silicon

By combine the Ag nanoparticles, pyramidal silicon and molybdenum disulfide, the MoS₂@AgNPs@PSi substrate shows high performance in terms of sensitivity, uniformity, reproducibility and stability.

Litchi-like CdS/CdTiO3–TiO2 composite: synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic performance for crystal violet degradation and hydrogen production

CdS/CdTiO₃–TiO₂ composites prepared under different conditions contain a mixture of crystal phases of CdS, CdTiO₃ and TiO₂. The conditions of synthesis have an impact on the photocatalytic performance for dye degradation and hydrogen production.

Design and preparation of a recyclable microfluidic SERS chip with integrated Au@Ag/TiO2 NTs

Design and preparation of a recyclable microfluidic SERS chip with integrated Au@Ag/TiO₂ NTs.

Bifunctional 4MBA mediated recyclable SERS-based immunoassay induced by photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanotube arrays

We present a recyclable SERS-based immunoassay for CA19-9 with a low detection limit of 5 U mL⁻¹. The linking between TiO₂-NTs and 4MBA was destroyed by catalyzing 4MBA into 4-sulfobenzoate upon UV irradiation, which was clarified by UPLC/ESI-tqMS and density functional theory.

Synthesis and enhanced photoelectric performance of Au/ZnO hybrid hollow sphere

The maximum responsivity (R_λ) and photocurrent of Au/ZnO nanodevice showed 10 times enhancement than that of pure ZnO hollow spheres.

Ni cluster nucleation and growth on the anatase TiO2(101) surface: a density functional theory study

The Ni–TiO₂ interaction is the main driving force at the initial stage of Ni nucleation. The Ni–Ni interaction begins to control the growth process as the cluster size gets larger.

High performance SERS active substrates fabricated by directly growing graphene on Ag nanoparticles

An efficient surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate of graphene-isolated Ag nanoparticle (G/AgNP) has been developed by using excimer laser to ablate the ordered pyrolytic graphite in high vacuum onto Ag nanoparticles.

Microfluidic electrochemical growth of vertically aligned TiO2 nanotubes for SERS optofluidic devices

The growth of a TiO₂ nanotubes (NTs) array into a microfluidic electrochemical reactor is here demonstrated.

Tailoring Au-Ag-S composite microstructures in one-pot for both SERS detection and photocatalytic degradation of plasticizers DEHA and DEHP

We report a facile single-step one-pot solvothermal process for tailoring the Au-Ag-S microstructures as bifunctional substrates for both surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection and photocatalytic degradation of plasticizers diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and diethylhexyl adipate (DEHA). Typically, two different microstructures, the Ag2S particles inlaid Au microflowers (Ag2S-Au MFs) and Au particles decorated AgAuS microsheets (Au-AgAuS MSs) were obtained. The Ag2S-Au MF substrates finally turned out to provide 0.9 × 10(-9) and 0.9 × 10(-7) M of the limits of detection (LODs) for DEHP and DEHA in orange juice. And on the other hand, the Au-AgAuS MSs achieved complete degradation of DEHP and DEHA (1 × 10(-5) M) after 20 and 25 min of UV light irradiation, respectively. It is believed that the facile preparation and appreciable SERS and catalytic activities of these Au-Ag-S microstructures would make much sense to develop novel multifunctional sensing and monitoring devices.

The effect of dielectric constants on noble metal/semiconductor SERS enhancement: FDTD simulation and experiment validation of Ag/Ge and Ag/Si substrates

The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method was employed to simulate the electric field distribution for noble metal (Au or Ag)/semiconductor (Ge or Si) substrates. The simulation showed that noble metal/Ge had stronger SERS enhancement than noble metal/Si, which was mainly attributed to the different dielectric constants of semiconductors. In order to verify the simulation, Ag nanoparticles with the diameter of ca. 40 nm were grown on Ge or Si wafer (Ag/Ge or Ag/Si) and employed as surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates to detect analytes in solution. The experiment demonstrated that both the two substrates exhibited excellent performance in the low concentration detection of Rhodamine 6G. Besides, the enhancement factor (1.3 × 10⁹) and relative standard deviation values (less than 11%) of Ag/Ge substrate were both better than those of Ag/Si (2.9 × 10⁷ and less than 15%, respectively), which was consistent with the FDTD simulation. Moreover, Ag nanoparticles were grown in-situ on Ge substrate, which kept the nanoparticles from aggregation in the detection. To data, Ag/Ge substrates showed the best performance for their sensitivity and uniformity among the noble metal/semiconductor ones.

SERS performance of graphene oxide decorated silver nanoparticle/titania nanotube array

A schematic illustrates the preparation of recyclable GO/Ag/TiO₂ NTA substrate keeping both active SERS detection and photocatalytic self-cleaning properties.

Investigation of the photocatalytic effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles in the presence of nitrite

Zinc oxide nanoparticles are widely used in sunscreen products because of their chemical stability and capability of blocking harmful ultraviolet rays. However, zinc oxide nanoparticles can also generate reactive species under ultraviolet irradiation. Because nitrite can form reactive nitrogen species under oxidative stress and because it exists in perspiration and cosmetics, we studied the effects of nitrites on the photocatalytic damage of zinc oxide nanoparticles (50 nm and 90 nm) to bovine serum albumin and human keratinocyte cells under ultraviolet irradiation (365 nm and 254 nm). The results indicate that nitrite plays an enhancing role in photocatalytic damage by breaking amino acid residues and promoting protein oxidation and nitration. The concentrations of zinc oxide and nitrite, the irradiation light and duration, and the pH of the medium are important factors influencing this photocatalytic damage. Size effects of ZnO nanoparticles on bovine serum albumin and keratinocyte cells are different. It is speculated that the extent of photo-damage is partially dependent on the aggregation of zinc oxide. These findings may be valuable for understanding potential risks of applying zinc oxide nanoparticle-containing sunscreens to human skin under sunlight exposure.

Enhanced Raman spectroscopy of molecules adsorbed on carbon-doped TiO₂ obtained from titanium carbide: a visible-light-assisted renewable substrate

Titanium carbide (TiC) is an electrically conducting material with favorable electrochemical properties. In the present studies, carbon-doped TiO(2) (C-TiO(2)) has been synthesized from TiC particles, as well as TiC films coated on stainless steel substrate via thermal annealing under various conditions. Several C-TiO(2) substrates are synthesized by varying experimental conditions and characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic techniques. C-TiO(2) in the dry state (in powder form as well as in film form) is subsequently used as a substrate for enhancing Raman signals corresponding to 4-mercaptobenzoic acid and 4-nitrothiophenol by utilizing chemical enhancement based on charge-transfer interactions. Carbon, a nonmetal dopant in TiO(2), improves the intensities of Raman signals, compared to undoped TiO(2). Significant dependence of Raman intensity on carbon doping is observed. Ameliorated performance obtained using C-TiO(2) is attributed to the presence of surface defects that originate due to carbon as a dopant, which, in turn, triggers charge transfer between TiO(2) and analyte. The C-TiO(2) substrates are subsequently regenerated for repetitive use by illuminating an analyte-adsorbed substrate with visible light for a period of 5 h.

Three dimensional design of large-scale TiO(2) nanorods scaffold decorated by silver nanoparticles as SERS sensor for ultrasensitive malachite green detection

We have designed a large-scale three-dimensional (3D) hybrid nanostructure as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor by decorating silver nanoparticles on TiO2 nanorods scaffold (Ag/TiO2). Taking p-mercaptobenzoic acid (PMBA) as the probe molecule, the SERS signals collected by point-to-point and time mapping modes show that the relative standard deviation (RSD) in the intensity of the main Raman vibration modes (1079, 1586 cm(-1)) is less than 10%, demonstrating good spatial uniformity and time stability. This hybrid substrate also exhibits excellent SERS enhancement effect due to the formation of high-density hot spots among the AgNPs, which was proved by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. The application of the new nanostructures as SERS sensors was demonstrated with the detection of malachite green (MG). The quantification of MG can be accomplished with the detection limit of 1 × 10(-12) M based on the Raman intensity. The results show that the Ag/TiO2 nanostructure can be a promising candidate for SERS sensor.