In this study, we used classical and simple Sonogashira couplings to construct three 1,3,4-oxadiazole-linked conjugated microporous polymers (OXD-CMPs) through the reaction of 2,5-bis­(4-bromophenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (OXD-Br2) as a common partner with the structurally diverse units of ethynyl triphenylamine, tetraphenylethene, and pyrene, respectively. We used several methods, both spectroscopic and microscopic, to characterize the three OXD-CMPs. Each OXD-CMP displayed a high thermal stability. The Py-OXD-CMP possessed pores having sizes in the range 1.20–2.25 nm and a high surface area (298 m2 g–1). These OXD-CMPs interacted with singled-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs), stabilized through noncovalent π–π interactions, to afford OXD-CMP/CNT composites that were suitable for supercapacitor devices. Among our OXD-CMP/CNT composites, the Py-OXD-CMP/CNT composite offered a specific capacitance of 504 F g–1 and a superior capacitance retention (91.1%) over 2000 cycles.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) have numerous applications in areas such as analytical chemistry, biochemistry, and environmental science. However to manufacture SERS active substrates with good reproducibility and low cost is not easy, which hinder the SERS technology from being widespread in various applications. In this study, we developed a batch producible hot embossing 3D nanostructured SERS substrate technology for SERS applications. This study utilized the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) self-assembled uniform nano-hemispherical array barrier layer as a template to create a durable nanostructured nickel mold. With the hot embossing technique and the durable nanostructured nickel mold, we were able to batch produce the 3D Nanostructured SERS chip with consistent quality and low cost. In addition, according to the SERS experiments, the 3D nano-hemispherical cavity array combined with sub-10-nm-gaps Au NPs showed distinct SERS signals in both Rhodamine 6G and Chlorpyrifos measurements. Therefore, the developed method is good to be used extensively in rapid chemical and biomolecular detection applications.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy has attracted a lot of attention over the past 30 years. Due to its extreme sensitivity and label-free detection capability, it has shown great potential in areas such as analytical chemistry, biochemistry, and environmental science. However, the major challenge is to manufacture large-scale highly SERS active substrates with high controllability, good reproducibility, and low cost. In this study, we report a novel method to fabricate uniform silver nanoparticle arrays with tunable particle sizes and interparticle gaps. Using hot embossing and sputtering techniques, we were able to batch produce the silver nanoparticle arrays SERS active substrate with consistent quality and low cost. We showed that the proposed SERS active substrate has good uniformity and high reproducibility. Experimental results show that the SERS enhancement factor is affected by silver nanoparticles size and interparticle gaps. Furthermore, the enhancement factor of the SERS signal obtained from Rhodamine 6G (R6G) probe molecules was as high as 1.12 × 107. Therefore, the developed method is very promising for use in many SERS applications.

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