Silica-supported silver nano-particles for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

We have developed and prepared a new type of substrate by impregnating sili ca with silver for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The effects of several experimental conditions of preparation, including the drying tempe rature, the molar ratio of Ag to Si, the calcination time and the calcinati on temperature, were investigated and varied to give a better surface enhan cement efficiency of the substrate. X-ray diffraction and transmission elec tron microscopy were used to measure the relative abundance of silver metal and the size of silver particles in the substrates. The results provided u seful information that would be helpful in explaining the surface-enhanced performance of silica-supported silver substrates prepared under different conditions. The SERS spectra of several organic dyes were used to demonstra te the performance of the silver-silica substrate. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.