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

We have developed and prepared a new type of substrate by impregnating silica with silver for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The effects of several experimental conditions of preparation, including the drying temperature, the molar ratio of Ag to Si, the calcination time and the calcination temperature, were investigated and varied to give a better surface enhancement efficiency of the substrate. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to measure the relative abundance of silver metal and the size of silver particles in the substrates. The results provided useful 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 demonstrate the performance of the silver-silica substrate. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.