We have demonstrated stable surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) on arrays of Au nanorods aligned
on a photocatalytic TiO2 layer. We used dynamic oblique deposition (DOD) in order to control the morphology
of both the Au nanorods and the TiO2 layer so that both Au and TiO2 appear on the surface and play the roles
of Raman enhancer and self-cleaner, respectively. TiO2 template layer was formed by depositing Ti2O3 onto
heated glass substrate in an oxygen atmosphere so that it was ready as photocatalyst when the deposition was
over, without post annealing in the air. A serial bideposition technique (SBD) at a deposition angle of 85° was
used to control the morphology of TiO2 layer suitable for the growth of Au nanorods. Then, Au nanorods were
arrayed by depositing Au with different deposition angles and thicknesses on the TiO2 layer. We investigated
the photocatalysis and SERS properties of the samples and found that they show both good photocatalysis
and strong signals of SERS although these properties varies depend on the deposition angle and thickness of
Au layer. Most importantly, we found that the SERS signals measured on our samples have shown spatially-,
temporally-stable characters which have not been observed before on the Ag or Au nanorods deposited on a
SiO2 layer. This stability is interpreted in terms of the self-cleaning character due to the photocatalytic TiO2
template layer.
Using a dynamic oblique-angle deposition technique, we have demonstrated the direct formation of Ag nanorods
with quasiparallel major axes on a template layer of oxide having a strongly anisotropic surface morphology. The
optical properties of the nanorods are tuned by the deposition conditions without any pre- or post-treatment, and
the resulting nanocoatings containing the Ag nanorods exhibit high surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)
activity. In addition to high uniformity over a large area, our nanocoatings contain a large number of isolated
nanorods with a high density. Using the optimum Ag nanorods, SERS imaging of microdroplets of a rhodamine
6G solution has been successfully demonstrated. The space resolution of the imaging is of the order of at least
a few μm. These features are quite appropriate for the SERS imaging of biomaterials.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.