Premium
The Role of Etching in the Formation of Ag Nanoplates with Straight, Curved and Wavy Edges and Comparison of Their SERS Properties
Author(s) -
Yang Yin,
Zhong XiaoLan,
Zhang Qiang,
Blackstad Logan G.,
Fu ZhengWen,
Li ZhiYuan,
Qin Dong
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201302877
Subject(s) - ostwald ripening , etching (microfabrication) , materials science , nanotechnology , hydrothermal circulation , particle (ecology) , enhanced data rates for gsm evolution , chemical engineering , layer (electronics) , telecommunications , oceanography , geology , computer science , engineering
We investigate the role of etching in the formation of Ag nanoplates with different morphologies. By examining the reduction of AgNO 3 with poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) in an aqueous solution under a hydrothermal condition, we confirm that etching plays an essential role in promoting the growth of Ag triangular nanoplates with straight edges at the expense of multiple twinned particles via Ostwald ripening. Once all the multiple twinned particles are gone, etching will continue at the corners of nanoplates, leading to the formation of enneahedral nanoplates with curved edges. When the nanoplates with straight edges are transferred into ethanol and subjected to a solvothermal treatment, we obtain nanoplates with wavy edges and sharp corners due to etching on the edges. A comparison study indicates that, at the same particle concentration, Ag nanoplates with wavy edges embraces a SERS enhancement factor at least 6 and 13 times stronger than those with straight and curved edges, respectively. The results from finite difference time domain calculations support our experimental observation that the sharp features on nanoplates with wavy edges are the most active sites for SERS.