Silver nanoparticles deposited on anodic aluminum oxide template using magnetron sputtering for surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrate

abstract Article history:Received 30 April 2009Received in revised form 16 June 2010Accepted 6 July 2010Available online xxxxKeywords:Silver nanoparticlesRaman scatteringSurface enhanced raman scatteringMagnetron sputteringAnodic aluminum oxideScanning electron microscopy Low-cost and highly sensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates have been fabricated bya simple anodizing process and a magnetron sputtering deposition. The substrates, which consist of silvernanoparticles embedded on anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates, are investigated by a scanningelectron microscope and a confocal Raman spectroscopy. The SERS activities are demonstrated by Ramanscattering from adsorbed solutions of methylene blue and pyridine on the SERS substrate surface. The mostoptimized SERS substrate contains the silver nanoparticles, with a size distribution of 10–30 nm, depositedon the AAO template. From a calculation, the SERS enhancement factor is as high as 8.5×10 7 , which suggestsstrong potentials for direct applications in the chemical detection and analyses.© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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