Nonresonant Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering of ZnO Quantum Dots with Au and Ag Nanoparticles

Abstract

Pronounced 10(4)-fold enhancement of Raman scattering has been obtained for ZnO nanocrystals on substrates coated with 50 nm Ag nanoparticles under nonresonant excitation with a commercial red-emitting laser. This makes feasible beyond 10(-18) mole detection of ZnO nanocrystals with a commercial setup using a 0.1 mW continuous wave laser and can be purposefully used in analytical applications where conjugated nanocrystals serve as Raman markers. For Au-coated surfaces the enhancement is much lower and the heating effects in the course of Raman experiments are pronounced.

Probing the Interaction at the Nano–Bio Interface Using Raman Spectroscopy: ZnO Nanoparticles and Adenosine Triphosphate Biomolecules

“…14 Finally, ZnO is strongly Raman active, thereby rendering it a good candidate for studying binding capabilities with biomolecules. 15,16 Rumyantseva et al confirm the use of ZnO nanocrystals for ultrasensitive detection of biomolecules by micro Raman scattering experiments. 16 Hydrothermally synthesized ZnO nanostructures with varied morphology and surface properties 17,18 provide an idealistic model to determine the interaction kinetics with biomolecules.…”

“…15,16 Rumyantseva et al confirm the use of ZnO nanocrystals for ultrasensitive detection of biomolecules by micro Raman scattering experiments. 16 Hydrothermally synthesized ZnO nanostructures with varied morphology and surface properties 17,18 provide an idealistic model to determine the interaction kinetics with biomolecules. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) plays an essential role in biological energy transfer reactions.…”

Combination of surface- and interference-enhanced Raman scattering by CuS nanocrystals on nanopatterned Au structures

“…A pronounced 10 4 -fold SERS enhancement by surface optical phonons was observed for ZnO NCs excited in resonance with localised surface plasmon in Ag nanoclusters deposited on ZnO NCs and out of the resonance [10–11]. SERS by LO phonons of CdTe was investigated in mixed Ag-CdTe NCs with a controllable Ag nanoparticle/CdTe NC mixture ratio [12].…”

Investigation of the Optical Modal Properties of Al+3 Doped ZnO-Coated Au Waveguide for Gas Sensing Applications Using the Finite Element Method

“…Similarly gold nanoparticles such as wires, rods, cubes and plates have also received considerable attention due to their unique catalytic, electrical, optical, biological and other properties since the emergence of nanoscience [8] and the technology developed has allowed the exploitation of their plasmonic properties at visible wavelengths. By exploiting ZnO/Au-interface enhanced physical phenomena in the field of photocatalysis [9], applications of Raman scattering [10] and luminescence [11] have also been reported.…”