Surface-enhanced Raman scattering of carbon nanotubes by decoration of ZnS nanoparticles

ZnS nanoparticles anchored on the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were fabricated by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The CVD method shows no selectivity for growth of ZnS nanoparticles on types and defects of the SWNTs, and thus ensures the uniform decoration of all SWNTs on the substrate. ZnS nanoparticles with a diameter of 10 nm were decorated on the SWNTs surface with an interparticle distance of about 20 nm. This method provides the possibility to realize the optimal configurations of ZnS nanoparticles on SWNTs for obtaining surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) of SWNTs. Investigations of mechanism reveal that charge transfer (a small amount of excitation electrons) from ZnS nanoparticles to SWNTs weakly affects Raman intensity, and the coupled surface plasmon resonance (SPR) formed from plenty of excitation electrons on the surface of ZnS nanoparticles contributes to the strong surface enhancement. It would be an alternative approach for SERS after metal (normally gold or silver) nanoparticles' decoration on the SWNTs surface.