Metal nanoparticles/carbon dots nanocomposites for SERS devices: trends and perspectives

Abstract

Carbon dots and carbon dots-based nanocomposites have found a myriad of technological applications. Despite the primary use of carbon dots as catalysts in the reduction process to form metal nanoparticles, their strong interaction with metal nanostructures in nanocomposites can be further exploited. By tuning the emission of carbon dots and the absorption band of metal nanoparticles, it is possible to reach adequate surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) from the resulting nanocomposites. Herein, it is reported the state-of-art in metal/carbon dots nanocomposites applied as active elements for SERS devices in the detection of traces of analytes. Strategies of synthesis, morphology (aggregation and anti-aggregation methods) and the improvement in the homogeneous distribution of noble metal nanoparticles on substrates have been discussed to reach the best performance for highly efficient SERS devices.

Synthesis of Multicolor Fluorescent N‐Doped Carbon Dots for Bioimaging Applications

“…Figure a–d shows the TEM images and size distributions of the B‐CDs (3–6 nm), G‐CDs (1–3 nm), Y‐CDs (1–6 nm), and Or‐CDs (1–3 nm). [ 30,31 ] The figure shows that comparing with other N‐CDs, B‐CDs have broader size distribution, and this may cause the PL emission spectral shift. The figure also shows that all the N‐CDs are less than 6 nm.…”

“…). [30,31] The figure shows that comparing with other N-CDs, B-CDs have broader size distribution, and this may cause the PL emission spectral shift. The figure also shows that all the N-CDs are less than 6 nm.…”

Engineered N-doped graphene quantum dots/CoFe2O4 spherical composites as a robust and retrievable catalyst: fabrication, characterization, and catalytic performance investigation in microwave-assisted synthesis of quinoline-3-carbonitrile derivatives

“…The hydrothermal method is the foremost common route for the mass production of GQDs. 33 A mixture of citric acid (CA, 1 g), ethylenediamine (en, 0.4 ml), and ultrapure water (50 ml) was stirred for 2 minutes at ambient temperature to form a clear homogeneous mixture. 34 Then, the as-prepared CoFe 2 O 4 nanocomposite (1 g) was poured into the above mixture and sonicated for 1 min to make a homogeneous mixture.…”

Recent Progress of Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Bacteria Detection

“…Many studies have proven that the enhancement effect of SERS substrates is strongly influenced by the type of materials, the structures’ size, shape and surface morphology, and the interaction modes between detection samples and SERS substrates. A variety of materials, such as gold [ 67 ], silver [ 68 ], copper nanoparticles [ 69 ], metal nanocomposites [ 70 ], core–shell nanomaterials [ 71 ], carbon materials [ 8 ], metal–organic frameworks [ 72 ] and magnetic nanomaterials [ 73 ], have been used to prepare SERS substrates. Compared to nanoparticles with a single element, metal composite nanostructures can greatly improve SERS’s enhancement performance, and bimetallic core–shell nanostructures have the function of regulating localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) characteristics through the alterations of elements and configuration [ 74 , 75 ].…”