[A holographic plate silver film-preparation, morphology and SERS activity]

A new method for preparing SERS-active substrate was reported. After being exposed, developed and fixed, the commercially available holographic plate can be used to generate attractive SERS-active silver surface. The obtained silver film was characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation. The absorption spectrum locates at around 420 nm with a narrow half-width due to the surface plasmon resonance, which implies that there are silver particles on the prepared substrate with uniform sizes. And the silver particles distribute uniformly anywhere on the holographic plate with a diameter of about 100 nm by SEM observation. Furthermore, the measurements of the SERS spectrum of crystal violet indicate that such substrate has the features of satisfactory reproducibility, long term stability and high SERS activity. The prepared silver film keeps high SERS activity even if it was stored for several months in the air at room temperature.