Since the mid-1970s surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has gone through a tortuous pathway to develop into a powerful diagnostic technique because the versatility of SERS has been questioned frequently. Only Au, Ag and Cu and alkali metals can provide the huge enhancement, which has limited the breadth of its practical applications. Based on the fact that SERS is nanostructure- and SPR-enhancement phenomenon, we have rationally designed various nanostructures to break the limitation of materials generality. Recently we have developed a new operation mode named as Shelled-Isolated Nanoparticle-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SHINERS). We chemically synthesized Au or Ag nanoparticles coated with ultra-thin shells (ca. two to four nanometers) of chemically inert silica. Such nanoparticles are spread over the probed substrate of virtually any materials and any surface morphology. High-quality surface Raman spectra were obtained on various molecules such as hydrogen, chloride, sulfate, water and carbon monoxide adsorbed at single-crystal surfaces of different metals. The other studies on membrane components of living cells, pesticide residues on fruits or vegetables and interfacial structure of dye-sensitized solar cells illustrate that SHINERS significantly expands the flexibility of SERS for wide applications in surface, materials, energy and life sciences.

Versatile strategy for gold nanoparticle-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

245th National Meeting (2013)

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