Silver nanocrystal superlattice coating for molecular sensing by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Abstract

A nanotechnique to assemble silver nanocrystals and control the gaps precisely in the sub-10nm regime is demonstrated on an active coating exhibiting surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The silver nanocrystal superlattice coating boasts a high SERS enhancement factor, large dynamic range, and universal SERS activity. The observed SERS efficiency can be explained in terms of interparticle-coupling-induced Raman enhancement.