Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a spectroscopic technique which is of increasing interest due to its specificity, sensitivity and limited background interference from aqueous media. Despite these various advantages, SERS is limited by the requirement that a suitable surface be present to obtain strong signals. As a result, the development of new surfaces for SERS is an area of great research interest. In this study, silver doped silica sol gels were investigated as possible substrates for SERS measurements. Gels were prepared via the base catalyzed hydrolysis of tetramethyl orthosilicate in the presence of colloidal silver nanoparticles. The organic dye calcein blue was chosen as a target molecule for detection due to its ability to bind dissolved metal ions and thus act as a sensor; target molecules were introduced to the gel matrix via inclusion in the reaction mixture or by diffusion following gel synthesis. Spectra obtained from synthesized sol-gels indicate that they are viable substrates for the SERS of calcein blue.

Silica sol-gels containing calcein blue as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) sensors for metal ions

249th National Meeting (2015)

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