Open AccessRaman Signal Enhancement by Quasi-Fractal Geometries of Au Nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Richard Darienzo,
Tatsiana Mironava,
Rina Tannenbaum
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of nanoscience and nanotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1533-4899
pISSN - 1533-4880
DOI - 10.1166/jnn.2019.16348
Subject(s) - materials science , raman scattering , nanoparticle , branching (polymer chemistry) , curvature , raman spectroscopy , colloidal gold , surface roughness , surface plasmon , plasmon , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , optoelectronics , optics , composite material , physics , geometry , mathematics , engineering
The synthesis of star-like gold nanoparticles (SGNs) in a temperature-controlled environment allows for temperature modulation and facilitates the growth of highly branched nanoparticles. By increasing the synthesis temperature, the level of branching increases as well. These highly branched features represent a distinctly novel, quasi-fractal nanoparticle morphology, referred to herein as gold nano caltrops (GNC). The increased surface roughness, local curvature and degree of inhomogeneity of GNC lend themselves to generating improved enhancement of the scattering signals in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) via a mechanism in which the localized surface plasmon sites, or "hot spots," provide the engine for the signal amplification, rather than the more conventional surface plasmon. Here, the synthesis procedure and the surface-enhancing capabilities of GNC are described and discussed.