Preparation of nano-structured Ag solid materials and application to surface-enhanced Raman scattering

• Published in: Journal of Central South University of Technology. Science & technology of mining and metallurgy Vol. 18; no. 6; pp. 1877 - 1882
• Main Authors: Yi, Zao, Chen, Yan, Chen, Shan-jun, Tan, Xiu-lan, Niu, Gao, Luo, Jiang-shan, Tang, Yong-jian, Yi, You-gen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Central South University 01.12.2011
• Subjects: Engineering; Metallic Materials; relative density; nano-structured Ag solid material; flow-levitation method; surface-enhanced Raman scattering; Rhodamine 6G
• ISSN: 1005-9784; 1993-0666
• DOI: 10.1007/s11771-011-0917-x

Silver nano-particles with average diameter of about 60 nm were compacted in a high-strength mold under different pressures at 523 K to produce nano-structured Ag solid materials. The structure and characteristic of the nano-structured Ag solid materials (NSS-Ag) were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Raman spectrometer. The NSS-Ag could be used as highly efficient surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active substrates. The common probe molecules Rhodamine 6G (R6G, 1×10 −10 mol/L) were used to test the SERS activity on these substrates at very low concentrations. It is found that the SERS enhancement ability is dependent on the density of NSS-Ag. When the relative density of NSS-Ag is 83.87%, the materials reveal great SERS signal.