AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Surface Science Tuesday Sessions
       Session SS1-TuM

Paper SS1-TuM9
Nanoporous Gold As a Novel Highly Active Substrate for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Tuesday, November 1, 2005, 11:00 am, Room 202

Session: Vibrational Spectroscopy of Surfaces
Presenter: A.V. Hamza, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Authors: J. Biener, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
J.R. Hayes, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
S.O. Kucheyev, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
T. Huser, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
C.E. Talley, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
A.M. Hodge, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
A.V. Hamza, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Correspondent: Click to Email
Surface-enhanced Raman-scattering (SERS) spectroscopy has attracted considerable interest in recent years due to the possibility to reach the single molecule detection limit. Colloidal solutions of gold or silver with particle sizes in the submicron range are most commonly used as SERS active substrates. However, the limited stability and reproducibility of metal colloids currently hampers their use as SERS substrates. Here, we report on the development of nanoporous gold (np-Au) as a novel, highly active SERS substrate. The SERS activity was probed using crystal violet as a test molecule. The significant Raman enhancement observed seems to be a consequence of the nanoscale surface roughness and curvature of np-Au. The material is prepared by dealloying Ag-Au alloys, and exhibits an open sponge-like morphology of interconnecting Au ligaments with a typical pore size distribution on the nanometer length scale. The dimensions of both pores and ligaments can be further fine-tuned by chemical and/or thermal treatments. Our ultimate goal is the development of an affordable, stable, reproducible, and highly active substrate for SERS-based chemical sensors. This work was performed under the auspices of the U. S. Department of Energy by the University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. W-7405-Eng-48.