A cationic polyelectrolyte templating technique has been developed to create gold nanoshell structures on inexpensive nanoparticle supports. Fractal carboxyl-terminated carbon black particles coated with poly-L-lysine (PLL) were suspended in a tetrachloroauric acid (HAuCl4) solution. PLL enriched the interface with AuCl4- anions and ascorbic acid was added as the reducing agent, forming thin gold shells (Au) on the carbon black (CB) particles. The absorbance spectrum of the Au-CB nanoshells can be tuned by controlling the HAuCl4 concentration. The Au-CB nanoshells were deposited on a silicon substrate and used for the detection of 4-nitrobenzenethiol using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). The cusps on the fractal particles coupled with the spiky edges of the gold nanoshells significantly enhance SERS signals. Our results suggest that Au-CB nanoshells are new, highly sensitive SERS substrates.

Facile fabrication of spiky gold-carbon black nanoshells for efficient surface-enhanced Raman scattering

255th National Meeting (2018)

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