The goal of this research is to synthesize gold nanoparticles of various shapes and sizes, such as nanostars, nanocubes, or tetrapods. The particles could range from 30-300 nanometers in size. Once these particles are produced, their maximum absorbance will be determined.  The absorbance spectra and maximum wavelength can be associated to the shape and size of these particles. In addition, the nanoparticles will be observed using a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) in order to correlate the distinct shapes and sizes developed throughout this research project. The different nanoparticles will be used in Raman Spectroscopy to do signal enhancement comparisons using the dye Rhodamine B. It has been shown that nanoparticles with larger surface area and shape can produce a higher intensity Raman signal. In particular, gold nanoparticles can enhance a molecule’s signal up to several orders of magnitude. We will demonstrate that we can obtain a larger signal enhancement for Rhodamine B when using gold nanoparticles of larger surface area.<br/>

Gold nanoshapes synthesis for surface enhanced Raman applications

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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