“…Consequently, the design, construction, and mass production of highly sensitive nanomaterials are key prerequisites for the trace detection of chemical and biological analytes, especially for commercial applications in the near future. To date, remarkable success in sensitivity has been achieved by fabricating diverse silver or gold geometrical nanostructures such as nanospheres [ 11 ], nanorods [ 12 ], nanostars [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], and nanourchins [ 16 , 17 , 18 ], which serve as basic building blocks for the sensing colloids or solid substrates. Among those architectures, the hierarchical nanostructures have attracted significant attention because of their ultimate enhancement factors (EFs) of 10 7 –10 9 , benefiting from the plentiful hotspots formed between nanoscopic gaps, corners, valleys, sharp protrusions, and crevices [ 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”