Green Synthesis of Ag Thin Films on Glass Substrates and Their Application in Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

Abstract

Nanostructured Ag thin films could be facilely prepared by soaking glass substrates in ethanolic solutions containing Ag 2 O powders at an elevated temperature. The formation of zero-valent Ag was corroborated using X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The deposition of Ag onto a glass substrate was readily controlled simply by changing the reaction time. Due to the aggregated structures of Ag, the surfaceenhanced Raman scattering spectra of benzenethiol could be clearly identified using the Ag-coated glass. The enhancement factor at 514.5 nm excitation estimated using benzenethiol reached 1.0 × 10 5 while the detection limit of rhodamine 6G was found to be as low as 1.0 × 10 −13 M. Since this one-pot fabrication method is ecofriendly and is suitable for the mass production of diverse Ag films, it is expected to play a significant role in the development of surface plasmon-based analytical devices.