Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active silver hierarchical assemblies are synthesized in solution by the assistance of small acid molecules without using any polymer surfactant or capping agent. In this ‘Hot’ paper a team from China and the USA demonstrate the acid-directed self-assembly of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) into large systems with complex structures. They verify that small acid molecules (citric acid, mandelic acid, etc.) incorporated into conventional solution chemistry can direct the assembly of MNPs into well-defined hierarchical structures. The constructed assembled structures with highly roughened surfaces can be highly sensitive SERS platforms, and the fabricated core–shell Ag wires show especially high SERS sensitivity toward the analyte melamine.
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Acid-directed synthesis of SERS-active hierarchical assemblies of silver nanostructures
Bin Zhang, Ping Xu, Xinmiao Xie, Hong Wei, Zhipeng Li, Nathan H. Mack, Xijiang Han, Hongxing Xu and Hsing-Lin Wang
J. Mater. Chem., 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0JM02837A, Paper
