Protein-aided formation of triangular silver nanoprisms with enhanced SERS performance

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Materials Science
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Silver nanoprisms are valuable nanomaterials with tunable plasmonic properties.
• Controlling shape and size is crucial for optimizing their performance in applications like SERS.
• Existing synthesis methods often struggle with uniformity and scalability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a modified seed-mediated synthesis for silver nanoprisms with controlled morphology.
• To utilize consensus sequence tetratricopeptide repeat (CTPR) proteins as stabilizers.
• To achieve tailored plasmonic absorbance and enhance SERS performance.

Main Methods:

• Seed-mediated synthesis employing CTPR proteins for stabilizing silver seeds.
• Utilizing ascorbic acid in the growth solution.
• Characterization using UV-Vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Main Results:

• Achieved high yield of silver nanoprisms with low shape polydispersity and narrow size distribution.
• Demonstrated a growth mechanism involving facet-selective lateral growth and Ostwald ripening.
• Obtained silver nanotriangles (NTs) with significant SERS enhancement factors.

Conclusions:

• CTPR proteins effectively stabilize silver seeds, enabling controlled nanoprism growth.
• The synthesis strategy yields high-quality silver nanotriangles suitable for SERS applications.
• The developed method offers a pathway to precisely engineered nanomaterials for advanced spectroscopy.