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Dependence of SERS enhancement on the chemical composition and structure of Ag/Au hybrid nanoparticles.

ABSTRACT: Noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) such as silver (Ag) and gold (Au) have unique plasmonic properties that give rise to surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Generally, Ag NPs have much stronger plasmonic properties and, hence, provide stronger SERS signals than Au NPs. However, Ag NPs lack the chemical stability and biocompatibility of comparable Au NPs and typically exhibit the most intense plasmonic resonance at wavelengths much shorter than the optimal spectral region for many biomedical applications. To overcome these issues, various experimental efforts have been devoted to the synthesis of Ag/Au hybrid NPs for the purpose of SERS detections. However, a complete understanding on how the SERS enhancement depends on the chemical composition and structure of these nanoparticles has not been achieved. In this study, Mie theory and the discrete dipole approximation have been used to calculate the plasmonic spectra and near-field electromagnetic enhancements of Ag/Au hybrid NPs. In particular, we discuss how the electromagnetic enhancement depends on the mole fraction of Au in Ag/Au alloy NPs and how one may use extinction spectra to distinguish between Ag/Au alloyed NPs and Ag-Au core-shell NPs. We also show that for incident laser wavelengths between ∼410 nm and 520 nm, Ag/Au alloyed NPs provide better electromagnetic enhancement than pure Ag, pure Au, or Ag-Au core-shell structured NPs. Finally, we show that silica-core Ag/Au alloy shelled NPs provide even better performance than pure Ag/Au alloy or pure solid Ag and pure solid Au NPs. The theoretical results presented will be beneficial to the experimental efforts in optimizing the design of Ag/Au hybrid NPs for SERS-based detection methods.

SUBMITTER: Chaffin E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4975750 | biostudies-other | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:In this study, we assessed the controlled synthesis and efficacy of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) on two distinct types of star-like Au@Ag core-shell nanoarrays. These nanoarrays were designed based on gold nanostars (AuNSs), which were synthesized with and without CTAB surfactant (AuNSs-CTAB and AuNSs-FS, respectively). The AuNS-FS nanoparticles were synthesized via a novel modification process, which helped overcome the previous limitations in the free-surfactant preparation of AuNSs by significantly increasing the number of branches, increasing the sharpness of the branches and minimizing the adsorption of the surfactant on the surface of AuNSs. Furthermore, the differences in the size and morphology of these AuNSs in the created nanoarrays were studied. To create the nanoarrays, a three-step method was employed, which involved the controlled synthesis of gold nanostars, covering them with a silver layer (AuNSs-FS@Ag and AuNSs-CTAB@Ag), and finally self-assembling the AuNS@Ag core-shelled nanoparticles via the liquid/liquid self-assembly method. AuNSs-FS@Ag showed higher ability in forming self-assembled nanoarrays than the nanoparticles prepared using CTAB, which can be attributed to the decrease in the repulsion between the nanoparticles at the interface. The nano-substrates developed with AuNSs-FS@Ag possessed numerous "hot spots" on their surface, resulting in a highly effective SERS performance. AuNSs-FS featured a significantly higher number of sharp branches than AuNSs-CTAB, making it the better choice for creating nanoarrays. It is worth mentioning that AuNSs-CTAB did not exhibit the same benefits as AuNSs-FS. The morphology of AuNSs with numerous branches was formed by controlling the seed boiling temperature and adding a specific amount of silver ions. To compare the SERS activity between the as-prepared nano-substrates, i.e., AuNS-CTAB@Ag and AuNS-FS@Ag self-assembled nanoarrays, low concentrations of crystal violet aqueous solution were characterized. The results showed that the developed AuNSs-FS@Ag could detect CV at trace concentrations ranging from 1.0 ng mL-1 to 10 ng mL-1 with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.45 ng mL-1 and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 1.38 ng mL-1. The nano-substrates remained stable for 42 days with a decrease in the intensity of the characteristic Raman peaks of CV by less than 7.0% after storage. Furthermore, the spiking method could detect trace amounts of CV in natural water from the Dong Nai River with concentrations as low as 1 to 100 ng mL-1, with an LOD of 6.07 ng mL-1 and LOQ of 18.4 ng mL-1. This method also displayed good reproducibility with an RSD value of 5.71%. To better understand the impact of CTAB stabilization of the Au@Ag star-like nanoparticles on their surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance, we conducted density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our research showed that the preparation of AuNSs-FS@Ag via self-assembly is an efficient, simple, and fast process, which can be easily performed in any laboratory. Furthermore, the research and development results presented herein on nanoarrays have potential application in analyzing and determining trace amounts of organic compounds in textile dyeing wastewater.

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Dependence of SERS enhancement on the chemical composition and structure of Ag/Au hybrid nanoparticles.

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