Inventors:
Catherine J. Murphy - Columbia SC, US
Tapan K. Sau - Chandigarh, IN
Christopher J. Orendorff - Albuquerque NM, US
Anand M. Gole - Columbia SC, US
Assignee:
University of South Carolina - Columbia SC
International Classification:
G01N 33/553
US Classification:
436525, 435 4, 436164, 436524, 436805
Abstract:
Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold substrates is presented for SAMs onto which gold nanoparticles of various shapes have been electrostatically immobilized. SERS spectra of 4-MBA SAMs are enhanced in the presence of immobilized gold nanocrystals by a factor of 10-10relative to 4-MBA in solution. Large enhancement factors are a likely result of plasmon coupling between the nanoparticles (localized surface plasmon) and the smooth gold substrate (surface plasmon polariton), creating large localized electromagnetic fields at their interface, where 4-MBA molecules reside in this sandwich architecture. Moreover, enhancement factors depend on nanoparticle shape, and vary by a factor of 10.