Photo-induced enhanced Raman spectroscopy for universal ultra-trace detection of explosives, pollutants and biomolecules

Sultan Ben-Jaber, William J. Peveler, Raul Quesada-Cabrera, Emiliano Cortés, Carlos Sotelo-Vazquez, Nadia Abdul-Karim, Stefan A. Maier and Ivan P. Parkin ()
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Sultan Ben-Jaber: University College London
William J. Peveler: University College London
Raul Quesada-Cabrera: University College London
Emiliano Cortés: The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College
Carlos Sotelo-Vazquez: University College London
Nadia Abdul-Karim: University College London
Stefan A. Maier: The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College
Ivan P. Parkin: University College London

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is one of the most sensitive spectroscopic techniques available, with single-molecule detection possible on a range of noble-metal substrates. It is widely used to detect molecules that have a strong Raman response at very low concentrations. Here we present photo-induced-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, where the combination of plasmonic nanoparticles with a photo-activated substrate gives rise to large signal enhancement (an order of magnitude) for a wide range of small molecules, even those with a typically low Raman cross-section. We show that the induced chemical enhancement is due to increased electron density at the noble-metal nanoparticles, and demonstrate the universality of this system with explosives, biomolecules and organic dyes, at trace levels. Our substrates are also easy to fabricate, self-cleaning and reusable.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12189

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