Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering of Crystal Violet with Low Concentrations Using Self-Assembled Silver and Gold-Silver Core-Shell Nanoparticles

The active substrates in surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy were prepared through self-assembly of nanoparticles on functionalized glasses. Colloidal silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were prepared chemically in two different sizes by reduction of AgNO3 using trisodium citrate and sodium borohydride. Gold–silver core–shell nanoparticles were also prepared to compare between the optical behaviors of their silver shell and Ag NPs. Absorption spectra of nanoparticles were measured by ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis.) spectroscopy, and their approximate sizes were determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The core–shell nanoparticles were approximately the same size as the largest Ag NPs (35 nm) and had the same maximum absorption wavelength. The potential of these substrates for detection applications was investigated with 1 M and 0.1 mM solutions of Raman-active molecule of crystal violet (CV) dye. The Raman enhancement signal was recorded for 0.1 mM solution with 532 nm laser wavelength, and the obtained spectra enhancement factor (EF) was calculated. EF values indicated that although the silver and gold–silver core–shell nanoparticles had the same surface plasmon resonance, the substrate with smaller Ag NPs had the highest enhancement factor compared to other substrates, which was 9.5´103, and the core–shell substrate even had a slightly lower enhancement factor in compare with the large Ag NPs.