Reduced graphite oxide decorated with gold nanoparticles for Raman scattering spectroscopy

Abstract

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (RS) spectroscopy is a sensitive analytical method that makes it possible to detect individual molecules. The substantial enhancement of the intensity of the signals in this method when compared to traditional Raman scattering is associated with two mechanisms, namely, electromagnetic and chemical. The first mechanism is associated with the enhancement of both the impinging and scattered radiation (electromagnetic enhancement), while the second mechanism is explained by the electron interaction between the molecule being analyzed and metal nanoparticles, namely, by the change in the polarizability of the adsorbed molecule, which results in the displacement and broadening of the electron levels of the adsorbed molecule or in the occurrence of new levels and promotes the enhancement of the signal in the Raman scattering spectrum. Graphene and material associated with it such as graphene oxide, graphite oxide, and reduced forms of graphene and graphite oxides are advanced materials for the creation of a significant chemical enhancement. Taking into account the different nature of the enhancement of the signal from the nanoparticles of noble metals and graphene and its derivatives, it is reasonable to study the effectiveness of hybrid structures on the basis of derivatives of graphene and noble metal nanoparticles in the Raman scattering spectroscopy of the analyte molecules with an aromatic structure.