Establishing the SERS-based sensing capabilities of silver nanorod thin films fabricated through oblique angle deposition at different temperatures
Adam C Stahler, Piyush J Shah, Andrew M Sarangan, and Ioana E Pavel

Abstract

Silver nanorod thin films (AgNRs) grown using oblique angle deposition are known to induce surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effects in analyte molecules adsorbed to their nanoscaled features. In this study, a rigorous approach was developed for comparing the SERS-based sensing capabilities of AgNR films grown at different temperatures using fluorescence emission spectroscopy (FES) in conjunction with a widely-used SERS test probe, rhodamine 6G (R6G), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). While FES helped quantifying for the first time the number of R6G molecules adsorbed on the AgNR films, SEM measurements revealed major structural differences in the diameter, length, and tilt angle of AgNR films fabricated at cryogenic (100 K) and room temperatures (300 K). Due to the higher density (~39.5%) and increased surface area (~60.0%) of the 100 K AgNRs, significant improvements were detected in the SERS spatial performance (e.g., 100% at 10–7 M of R6G) and the overall intensity of the SERS signal (e.g., 445% at 10–7 M of R6G) in comparison with the 300 K AgNRs. The 100 K AgNRs were also found to exhibit ~10-fold larger SERS signals and enhancement factors than the widely-used Creighton, colloidal silver nanoparticles for 10–6 M of R6G. This novel approach for establishing SERS-based sensing capabilities could be utilized for the evaluation of a large variety of AgNR films of promising sensing applications due to their low cost and high reproducibility. © Anita Publications. All rights reserved.
Keywords: SERS, Silver nanorod films, Oblique angle deposition, Half-mustard.

Peer Review Information
Method: Single- anonymous; Screened for Plagiarism? Yes
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