Electrodeposition of Pt nanostructures with reproducible SERS activity and superhydrophobicity

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity and water wettability are important characteristic properties of nanostructured surfaces with respect to their practical applications. In the present work, we report a simple one-step electrodeposition of nanostructured Pt surfaces. The tree-like Pt nanostructures exhibited reproducible SERS activity, and they also showed superhydrophobic natures after n-dodecanethiol modification. The growth process of Pt nanostructures as a function of deposition charge was monitored using a scanning electron microscope, from which the correlation between the structural variation of the Pt nanostructures and the SERS activity and wettability was investigated. The SERS activity was dependent on the presence of sharp edge sites, whereas the wettability was dependent on the apex structures. Well-defined Pt tree nanostructures exhibited high, reproducible, and electrochemically stable SERS activity. The straightforward fabrication of multi-functional Pt nanostructures presented in this work would allow new opportunities for the application of nanostructured metal surfaces.