Controllable Synthesis of Au NRs and Its Flexible SERS Optical Fiber Probe with High Sensitivity

Abstract

The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) optical fiber probes were successfully prepared by self-assembling on polyelectrolyte multilayers. Gold nanorods (Au NRs) were used as SERS enhancement material to give excellent biological affinity and stability to the SERS optical fiber probes. Au NRs were synthesized by seed growth method. The synergistic effect between AgNO₃ and surfactant was investigated, and the highest yield was found when AgNO₃ was 500 uL. Meanwhile, different SERS optical fiber probes were obtained by selecting silane coupling agent, polyelectrolyte multilayer and graphene oxide (GO) to treat quartz fiber. It was found that the SERS optical fiber probes obtained by the self-assembled on polyelectrolyte multilayers method performed better than those by other methods. In addition, Mapping was combined with finite element simulation to analyze the electromagnetic field distribution at the fiber end face. The electromagnetic field distribution of Au NRs was investigated, the difference of electromagnetic field intensity around the Au NRs with different arrangements was compared, the strongest signal was obtained when the Au NRs were head-to-head. Finally, sensitivity of the optimized SERS optical fiber probes could reach 10⁻⁹ mol/L, with excellent stability and repeatability.

Keywords

surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) / optical fiber probe / gold nanorods (Au NRs) / polyelectrolyte multilayers / controllable synthesis

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