Ultrasensitive Plasmon-Free Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy with Femtomolar Detection Limit from 2D van der Waals...

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have been promoted as an ideal platform for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), as they mitigate the drawbacks of noble metal-based SERS substrates. However, the inferior limit of detection has limited the practical applicability of 2D material-based SERS substrates. Here, we synthesize uniform large-area ReOS thin films via solution-phase deposition without post-treatments and demonstrate a graphene/ReOS vertical heterostructure as an ultrasensitive SERS platform. The electronic structure of ReOS can be modulated by changing the oxygen concentration in the lattice structure, obtaining efficient complementary resonance effects between ReOS and the probe molecule. In addition, the oxygen atoms in the ReOS lattice generate a dipole moment on the thin-film surface, which increases the electron transition probability. These synergistic effects outstandingly enhance the Raman effect in the ReOS thin film. When ReOS forms a vertical heterostructure on a graphene as the SERS substrate, the enhanced charge-transfer and exciton resonances improve the limit of detection to the femtomolar level, while achieving remarkable flexibility, reproducibility, and operational stability. Our results provide important insights into 2D material-based ultrasensitive SERS based on chemical mechanisms.