Surface-enhanced Raman scattering of p-aminothiophenol on a Au(core)/Cu(shell) nanoparticle assembly

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of p-aminothiophenol (PATP) molecules adsorbed onto assemblies of Au(core)/Cu(shell) nanoparticles is reported. We compare it with the SERS spectrum of PATP adsorbed onto gold nanoparticles: both the absolute and relative scattered intensities of various bands in the two spectra are very different. The difference in relative intensity can be ascribed to chemical effects; the chemical enhancement ratio of the two substrates is approximately 3-5. A theoretical analysis based on a charge-transfer model is carried out, which yields a consistent result and shows that the difference in chemical enhancement is mainly due to the state densities and Fermi levels of the substrates. The difference in absolute intensity originates from electromagnetic (EM) enhancement. EM enhancement of Au(core)/Cu(shell) nanoparticles is unlike that of single-component gold or copper SERS-active substrates. The core/shell particle size for optimal enhancement is about 20 nm in the case of a 632.8 nm incident laser (the size ratio of the core and shell layers is about 0.6).