An ultraviolet light-induced method is used to simultaneously grow silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the surface of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanospheres and complete a self-cleaning function. By adjusting ultraviolet (UV) light-induced duration, TiO2/AgNPs composite samples were prepared as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. The electromagnetic distribution of TiO2/AgNPs was analyzed with FDTD Solutions simulation software, and the corresponding theoretical enhancement factor was calculated. Taking the Rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecule as an analyte, the experimental detection limit is lower than 10−12 mol/L under UV-induced duration of 10 min, and the analytical enhancement factor (AEF) is ∼ 6.8×1010. In addition, the UV light-induced used samples can show a self-cleaning function, and the samples can be used for 5 cycles, with certain stability and repeatability. Moreover, the samples’ performance of multi-molecule detection is experimentally carried on.
We reported an efficient fabrication strategy for a three-dimensional structure based on large-area flexible carbon fiber cloth decorated by Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs-CFC). AgNPs with different sizes and morphologies were assembled on the surface of the CFC via a vacuum thermal evaporation and high-temperature annealing method. Samples with Ag film thickness of 5 nm, 10 nm, 15 nm, 20 nm, 30 nm and 50 nm were prepared and analyzed. The forming mechanism of AgNPs on the surface of CFC was studied in detail. Finite element numerical simulations with COMSOL Multiphysics were carried on to show the electronic field distributions of different samples based on SEM images. Raman measurements with Rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules as analytes indicated that the analytical enhancement factor (AEF) reaches to 2.4×1012 and a detection limit is as low as 1.0×10−14 mol/L.
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