Surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates fabricated using electroless plating on polymer-templated...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) offers unique molecular signatures with minimal water interference for aqueous analysis.
• Current SERS applications are limited by challenges in substrate design and fabrication.
• Traditional substrates like silver film over nanospheres (AgFON) require specialized equipment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel, easily fabricated SERS substrate.
• To overcome limitations of existing SERS substrate designs.
• To enable SERS applications outside of laboratory settings.

Main Methods:

• Electroless deposition onto a nanoparticle-seeded polymer scaffold.
• Fabrication without specialized equipment.
• Characterization of nanostructure stability and performance.

Main Results:

• The polymer-templated nanostructures exhibit stable enhancement factors comparable to AgFON.
• Broad localized surface plasmon resonance spectra allow for diverse Raman excitation wavelengths.
• The substrates demonstrate tolerance in both aqueous and organic environments for extended periods.

Conclusions:

• The developed polymer-templated nanostructures provide a simple, robust, and versatile SERS substrate.
• Ease of fabrication facilitates rapid, on-site SERS substrate generation.
• This advancement broadens the scope of SERS applications in analytical spectroscopy.