Contribution of specifically adsorbed ions, water, and impurities to the surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) of Ag electrodes

Abstract

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been observed from silver electrodes for water (H2O and D2O) in the frequency region of the librational, bending, and stretching modes. Simultaneously, SERS has been observed for halide ions and some organic impurities. The appearance of SERS from water and halide ions under the circumstances of the experiment is attributed to the formation of surface complexes involving silver adatoms, halide ions, and water molecules.