Gold‐coated zinc oxide nanowire‐based substrate for surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy

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Abstract
Zinc oxide nanowires with two distinct morphologies were synthesized on silicon substrates using a simple thermal evaporation and vapor transport method in an oxidizing environment. The as‐synthesized nanowires were coated with gold to allow excitation of surface plasmons over a broad frequency range. SERS studies with near‐IR excitation at 785 nm showed significant enhancement (average enhancement > 106) with excellent reproducibility to detect monolayer concentrations of 4‐methylbenzenethiol (4‐MBT) and 1,2‐benzendithiol (1,2‐BDT) probe molecules. The Raman enhancement showed a strong dependence on the gold film thickness, and the peak enhancement was observed for a ∼40‐nm‐thick film. The Raman enhancement was stronger for randomly oriented nanowires compared to aligned ones suggesting the importance of contributions from the junctions of nanowires. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Funding Information
  • NSF Nanoscale Exploratory Research (0609192)

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