Silver clusters onto nanosized colloidal silica as novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering active substrates

A new method is proposed for obtaining surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active substrates by photochemical reduction of silver nitrate onto colloidal silica. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy are employed to investigate the nanoscale structure of the materials. High quality SERS spectra are obtained from different organic ligands to check the efficiency of these substrates. A marked stability of the colloidal suspension is ensured by the scarce tendency of the Ag-doped silica particles to aggregate by either aging or adsorption of ligand.