화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.131, No.18, 6310-6310, 2009
Study of SERS Chemical Enhancement Factors Using Buffer Layer Assisted Growth of Metal Nanoparticles on Self-Assembled Monolayers
Highly controlled morphology Au nanoparticle films can be formed on the surfaces of self-assembted monolayers (SAMS) by vapor deposition at cryogenic temperatures (similar to 10 K) with intervening condensed Xe layers on the SAMS serving as a buffer to reduce the kinetic energy of the Au atoms impinging on the surface (buffer layer assisted growth or BLAG). Under these conditions pristine Au nanoparticles (AuNp) of a uniform shape and size were deposited onto two SAMs differing only by their terminal groups, 4-benzenedithiol (BDT) and 4-methylbenzenethiot (MBT), to form -S/Au and -CH3/Au interfaces with essentially identical AuNp overlayer morphologies. A surface enhanced Raman (SERS) enhancement factor ratio EFBDT/EFMBT Of similar to 130 was observed uniformly across the surfaces (similar to<10% variation). Since equal electromagnetic contributions to the SERS enhancements are expected from the two identically structured Au overlayer films, the observed SERS intensity ratio accordingly reflects a pure chemical enhancement (CE) contribution arising from the -S/Au relative to the -CH3/Au interface and thereby provides the first quantitative experimental data for the magnitude of the SERS CE for well-defined Au-molecule contacts.