Thin films of Ag nanoparticles prepared from the reduction of AgI nanoparticles in self-assembled films

A novel method for the preparation of thin films of Ag nanoparticles is reported. Using mercaptoacetic acid as the stabilizing agent, AgI nanoparticles were prepared in aqueous solution. And based on electrostatic interactions, the thiol-passivated AgI nanoparticles were assembled in a self-assembled film by alternative deposition with a cationic polyelectrolyte. Then the AgI nanoparticles in the composite film were reduced by NaBH(4), which resulted in the formation of a thin film of Ag nanoparticles. UV-visible spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data confirmed the transformation from AgI to Ag. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the formed Ag nanoparticles distributed on the film homogeneously. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) measurement indicated that the prepared thin films could be used as effective SERS substrates. The reduction process was also carried out by UV light at selective surface regions, which resulted in the formation of patterned nanoparticle arrays.     

盐酸羟胺络合法制备银溶胶及表面增强拉曼基底

报道了一种制备银溶胶的新方法.用紫外-可见光谱和透射电镜研究了银纳米粒子的形成过程、粒子形状及粒径分布.紫外光谱结果表明,在还原剂中加入碘化银溶胶后立即形成银纳米粒子,开始时粒子的粒径较小,很快聚集成较大的粒子.随着反应的进行,较大的粒子又逐渐碎裂为较小的粒子.同时,粒子的粒径分布逐渐变窄,说明银纳米粒子的形成过程也是粒子粒径均化的过程.透射电镜的研究结果表明,银纳米粒子为形状均一的球形,平均粒径约35nm.将这种银纳米粒子转移到固体基片上可得到活性较高的表面增强拉曼(SERS)基底.     

碘化银胶体上四苯基卟啉金属配合物的表面增强拉曼光谱研究

研究了四苯基卟啉金属配合物（MTPP,M=Ag,Mg,Cu,Pd）在AgI胶体上的表面增强拉曼光谱（SERS）。结果显示MgTPP与基底发生金属交换生成AgTPP,而在PdTPP和CuTPP上则未发现金属交换。除卟啉环的振动外,一些苯环振动带也被显著增强。在1400～1600cm-1范围,PdTPP和CuTPP的SERS与AgTPP有很大差别,可能反映了吸附分子在次甲基桥碳原子Cm附近立体构型的差异。     

银纳米粒子在云母表面的二维组装及其表面增强拉曼效应

随着纳米技术的迅速发展 ,利用共价或非共价键作用将金属纳米粒子组装到固体基片上 ,因其方法简单、重复性好而成为研究热点 .目前 ,人们已经成功地利用带有— SH[1,2 ] ,—CN,— NH2 [3 ] 等基团的单层或多层膜作为偶联剂将 Au和 Ag等金属纳米粒子固定在玻璃、石英、硅、金等固体基片上 .但在许多情况下 ,偶联剂却成为一种干扰物质 .云母是一种重要的电子工业材料 ,并具有廉价、较易获得新鲜表面等特点 ,研究金属纳米粒子在云母表面的组装和排列无疑具有重要意义 .但是 ,迄今为止 ,在表面没有偶联剂修饰的条件下 ,以云母为基底的金属纳…     

SERS-activating effect of chlorides on borate-stabilized silver nanoparticles: formation of new reduced adsorption sites and induced nanoparticle fusion

Changes in morphology, surface reactivity and surface-enhancement of Raman scattering induced by modification of borate-stabilized Ag nanoparticles by adsorbed chlorides have been explored using TEM, EDX analysis and SERS spectra of probing adsorbate 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) excited at 514.5 nm and evaluated by factor analysis. At fractional coverages of the parent Ag nanoparticles by adsorbed chlorides <0.6, the Ag colloid/Cl(-)/bpy systems were found to be constituted by fractal aggregates of Ag nanoparticles fairly uniform in size (10 +/- 2 nm) and SERS spectra of Ag(+)-bpy surface species were detected. The latter result was interpreted in terms of the presence of oxidized Ag(+) and/or Ag(n)(+) adsorption sites, which have been encountered also in systems with the chemically untreated Ag nanoparticles. At chloride coverages >0.6, a fusion of fractal aggregates into the compact aggregates of touching and/or interpenetrating Ag nanoparticles has been observed and found to be accompanied by the formation of another surface species, Ag-bpy, as well as by the increase of the overall SERS enhancement of bpy by factor of 40. The same Ag-bpy surface species has been detected under the strongly reducing conditions of reduction of silver nitrate by sodium borohydride in the presence of bpy. The formation of Ag-bpy is thus interpreted in terms of the stabilization of reduced Ag(0) adsorption sites by adsorbed bpy. The formation of reduced adsorption sites on Ag nanoparticle surfaces at chloride coverages >0.6 is discussed in terms of local changes in the work function of Ag. Finally, the SERS spectral detection of Ag-bpy species is proposed as a tool for probing the presence of reduced Ag(0) adsorption sites in systems with chemically modified Ag nanoparticles.     

Synthesis, characterization and SERS activity of Au-Ag nanorods

The formation mechanism and morphology of Au-Ag bimetallic colloidal nanoparticles depend on the composition. Ag coated Au colloidal nanoparticles have been prepared by deposition of Ag through chemical reduction on performed Au colloid. The composition of the Au(100-x)-Ag(x) particles was varied from x=0 to 50. The obtained colloids were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Au(80)-Ag(20) colloid consists of alloy nanorods with dimension of 25nmx100nm. The activity of these nanorods in surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was checked by using sodium salicylate as an adsorbate probe. Intense SERS bands are observed indicating its usefulness as a SERS substrate in near infrared (NIR) laser excitation.     

Self-assembly of lambda-DNA networks/Ag nanoparticles: hybrid architecture and active-SERS substrate

In this article, highly rough and stable surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active substrates had been fabricated by a facile layer-by-layer technique. Unique lambda-DNA networks and CTAB capped silver nanoparticles (AgNP) were alternatively self-assembled on the charged mica surface until a desirable number of bilayers were reached. The as-prepared hybrid architectures were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) and confocal Raman microscopy, respectively. Linear increases of the maximum absorbance of DNA band with the number of bilayers present a common LBL assembly feature. The red-shift of surface plasmon of silver nanoparticles within the hybrid films was mainly due to the aggregation effect. With the increase of number of bilayers, the surface coverage of nanoparticles on the substrate became larger, as well as the rising of total amount of nanoparticles and the surface roughness of hybrid films. These rough metallic hybrid architectures could be utilized as SERS-active substrates. A significant enhanced Raman scattering effect of the adsorbed analytes, e.g., methylene blue (MB), on these hybrid films was easily exploited by the confocal Raman microscopy. The enhancement factor depended on the surface coverage of nanoparticles and number of bilayers of lambda-DNA/AgNP.     

Electrochemical methods for the preparation of gold-coated TiO2 nanoparticles with variable coverages

We report here the first electrochemical methods to prepare elemental Au0-coated TiO2 nanoparticles with controllable coverages. First, Au substrates were cycled in a deoxygenated aqueous solution containing 0.1 N HCl and 1 mM TiO2 nanoparticles from -0.28 to +1.22 V versus Ag/AgCl at 500 mV/s with different numbers of scans. The durations at the cathodic and anodic vertexes were 10 and 5 s, respectively. After this process, positively charged Au-coated TiO2 nanoparticles were formed in the solutions. Then a cathodic overpotential of 0.6 V from the open circuit potential of ca. 0.82 V versus Ag/AgCl was applied under sonication to synthesize elemental Au0-coated TiO2 nanoparticles. The coverage of Au shells in the elemental Au-coated TiO2 nanoparticles is varied from 10% to 95% by increasing the number of scans from 10 to 50 in preparing the positively charged Au-coated TiO2 nanoparticles. The extremely high coverage of 95% in this study is notable, as compared with other methods to prepare Au-coated TiO2 nanoparticles.     

Fabrication, Characterization, and Surface-Enhanced Raman Activity Study of Silver Coated Gold Nanoparticulate Films

This paper reports a study on the preparation of Ag-clad Au colloidal monolayer films by a combination of colloid self-assembly and liquid phase microwave high-pressure technique. Firstly, monodisperse Au nanoparticles prepared by microwave heating method were assembled onto a quartz slide. Then, these Au colloidal particles on the quartz surface acted as seeds for growing the Ag-clad Au composite particulate films. The obtained particulate films were characterized by UV-Vis spectra and atomic force microscopy. It was found that the thickness of the shell and thus the size of particles in the composite colloidal films could be controlled by deposition of Ag on the preformed Au colloidal particle film in the microwave reaction system, and such films significantly increased the surface-enhanced Raman scattering enhancement （SERS） ability compared with Au colloidal particle films. Their strong enhancement ability may mainly stem from relatively large particle consisting of Ag cladding as well as effective coupling among particles in the Ag-clad Au particle ftlms.     

Substrates with discretely immobilized silver nanoparticles for ultrasensitive detection of anions in water using surface-enhanced Raman scattering

Positively charged silver nanoparticles, Ag [+], obtained by UV-assisted reduction of silver nitrate using branched poly(ethyleneimine) (BPEI) and 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) solutions as reducing agents, were immobilized on glass surfaces to produce substrates active in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Negatively charged silver nanoparticles, Ag [-], synthesized via a modified citrate reduction method, were also investigated for comparison. At a sparse surface coverage of 30 nanoparticles/microm(2), substrates with immobilized Ag [+] showed increasing SERS sensitivity to a variety of anions in water in the order SO(4)(2-) < CN(-) < SCN(-) approximately ClO(4)(-), with corresponding binding constants of 10(5), 3.3 x 10(5), and 10(7) (for both SCN- and ClO(4)(-)) M(-1), respectively. This order followed the Hofmeister series of anion binding in water. Significantly, substrates with Ag [+] allowed limit of detection values of 8.0 x 10(-8) M (8 ppb) and 2.7 x 10(-7) M (7 ppb) for environmentally relevant perchlorate (ClO(4)(-)) and cyanide (CN(-)) anions, respectively. In contrast, substrates with immobilized Ag [-], even upon subsequent modification by a monolayer of BPEI for positive surface charge of the nanoparticles, showed a drastically lower sensitivity to these anions. The high sensitivity of substrates with Ag [+] for anion detection can be attributed to the presence of two types of functional groups, amino and amide, on the nanoparticle surface resulting from UV-assisted fragmentation of BPEI chains. Both amino and amide provide strong binding of anions with Ag [+] nanoparticles due to the synergistic effect through a combination of electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, and dispersive interactions.     

Optical properties of Ag/CdTe nanocomposite self-organized by electrostatic interaction

Ag/CdTe nanocomposite was prepared via self-organization process by electrostatic interaction between positively charged CdTe quantum dots and negatively charged Ag nanoparticles and examined with respect to their optical properties. The positively charged CdTe quantum dots and negatively charged Ag nanoparticles were synthesized separately by modifying nanoparticles surface with cationic and anionic thiol compounds, respectively. The result showed that the mixing ratio of Ag nanoparticles to CdTe quantum dots is an important parameter for controlling resulting composites. The resulting solution is optically transparent if one component is in excess. Photoluminescence of CdTe quantum dots undergoes considerably quenching if CdTe nanocrystals are in excess and SERS spectra of BVPP absorbed on Ag colloid became stronger if Ag nanoparticles are in excess. Nevertheless, while the ratio is approximately 1, micrometer-sized solid composite is obtained with the elapse of 1h after mixing. SERS spectra for solid composite only exhibit the signals of the CdS nanocrystal which reflected that prolonged refluxing during the synthesis leads to a partial hydrolysis of the thiols and to the incorporation of the sulfur from the thiol molecules into the the growing nanoparticles to form mixed CdTe(S) nanocrystal, similar to CdTe/CdS core/shell structure. From the results, we conclude that optical properties of Ag/CdTe are dependent on the mixing ratio of both nanoparticles.     

重氮树脂与银纳米颗粒自组装膜的图像化

从巯基乙酸包覆的银纳米颗粒(MA-AgNP)和重氮树脂(DR)由自组装方法, 制备了感光性的超薄膜. 在掩模(photomask)覆盖下对膜进行选择性曝光和紧接着的十二烷基硫酸钠水溶液显影, 未光照部分的膜被显影液完全洗脱, 而光照部分的膜不能洗脱, 从而形成清晰的图像. 用AFM和SEM对图像进行了表征.     

Preparation of gold colloid monolayer by immunological identification

The design and initial characterization of the self-assembled gold colloid monolayer by a sandwich structure via the immunological identification are reported. The 13 nm gold colloid nanoparticles and the silicon or quartz substrates have been modified with the mouse polyclonal antibody against hepatitis B virus surface antigen (PAb) and the mouse monoclonal antibody against hepatitis B virus surface antigen (MAb), respectively. They can be linked by a special reaction with their corresponding hepatitis B virus surface antigen (Antigen) as a sandwich structure. Thus, the density of gold nanoparticles self-assembled on the substrate can be readily controlled by the amount of the antigen added. The resulting substrates have been characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy when the gold nanoparticles were modified with SERS-active probe molecules of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA) after silver enhancement. These data show that the gold nanoparticles are separately fixed onto the substrate and form a uniform monolayer, which possess a set of features that make them very attractive for both basic and applied uses, including roughness, high stability, and biocompatibility.     

Synthesis of positively charged silver nanoparticles via photoreduction of AgNO3 in branched polyethyleneimine/HEPES solutions

Branched polyethyleneimine (BPEI) and 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) were used collaboratively to reduce silver nitrate under UV irradiation for the synthesis of positively charged silver nanoparticles. The effects of molar ratio of the ingredients and the molecular weight of BPEI on the particle size and distribution were investigated. The mechanism for the reduction of Ag+ ions in the BPEI/HEPES mixtures entails oxidative cleavage of BPEI chains that results in the formation of positively charged BPEI fragments enriched with amide groups as well as in the production of formaldehyde, which serves as a reducing agent for Ag+ ions. The resultant silver nanoparticles are positively charged due to protonation of surface amino groups. Importantly, these positively charged Ag nanoparticles demonstrate superior SERS activity over negatively charged citrate reduced Ag nanoparticles for the detection of thiocyanate and perchlorate ions; therefore, they are promising candidates for sensing and detection of a variety of negatively charged analytes in aqueous solutions using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).     

Zwitterionic phosphorylcholine-protected water-soluble Ag nanoparticles

The water-soluble Ag nanoparticles capped with novel zwitterionic thioalkylated phosphorylcholine were synthesized. The Ag nanoparticles showed remarkable stability in saline media with salt concentrations as high as 2.0 mol/L and plasma using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. Similarly, compared with tiopronin and citrate-protected Ag nanoparticles, the zwitterionic phosphorylcholine Ag nanoparticles did not precipitate out of solution when charged polyelectrolytes or biopolymers were added. The zwitterionic phosphorylcholine might be a better ligand for stabilizing metal nanoparticles. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 20774082 and 50703036), National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant Nos. 2006AA03Z329 and 2006AA032444) and Science and Technology Projects of Zhejiang Province (Grant No. 2007C24G2010020)     

金核银壳纳米粒子薄膜的制备及SERS活性研究

采用柠檬酸化学还原法制备金溶胶, 通过自组装技术在石英片表面制备金纳米粒子薄膜, 在银增强剂混合溶液中反应获得金核银壳纳米粒子薄膜. 用紫外-可见吸收光谱仪和原子力显微镜(AFM)研究了不同条件下制备的金核银壳纳米粒子薄膜的光谱特性和表面形貌, 并以结晶紫为探针分子测量了金核银壳纳米粒子薄膜的表面增强拉曼光谱(SERS). 结果表明, 金纳米粒子薄膜的分布、银增强剂反应时间的长短对金核银壳纳米粒子薄膜的形成均有重要影响. 制备过程中, 可以通过控制反应条件获得一定粒径的、具有良好表面增强拉曼散射活性的金核银壳纳米粒子薄膜.     

A rapid and simple chemical method for the preparation of Ag colloids for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using the Ag mirror reaction

Colloidal silver (Ag) nanoparticles (AgNP) have been widely used for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) applications. We report a simple, rapid and effective method to prepare AgNP colloids for SERS using the classic organic chemistry Ag mirror reaction with Tollens’ reagent. The AgNP colloid prepared with this process was characterized using SEM, and the reaction conditions further optimized using SERS measurements. It was found that Ag mirror reaction conditions that included 20 mM AgNO₃, 5 min reaction time, and 0.5 M glucose produced AgNP colloids with an average size of 319.1 nm (s.d ± 128.1). These AgNP colloids exhibited a significant SERS response when adenine was used as the reporter molecule. The usefulness of these new AgNP colloids was demonstrated by detecting the nucleotides adenosine 5′-mono-phosphate (AMP), guanosine 5′-monophosphate (GMP), cytidine 5′-monophosphate (CMP), and uridine 5′-monophosphate (UMP). A detection limit of 500 nM for AMP was achieved with the as-prepared AgNP colloid. The bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae was also easily detected in laboratory culture with these SERS substrates. These findings attest to the applicability of this AgNP colloid for the sensitive and specific detection of both small biomolecules and microorganisms.     

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy: substrate-related issues

After over 30 years of development, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is now facing a very important stage in its history. The explosive development of nanoscience and nanotechnology has assisted the rapid development of SERS, especially during the last 5 years. Further development of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is mainly limited by the reproducible preparation of clean and highly surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active substrates. This review deals with some substrate-related issues. Various methods will be introduced for preparing SERS substrates of Ag and Au for analytical purposes, from SERS substrates prepared by electrochemical or vacuum methods, to well-dispersed Au or Ag nanoparticle sols, to nanoparticle thin film substrates, and finally to ordered nanostructured substrates. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of the advantages and weaknesses of different methods in preparing SERS substrates. Closely related to the application of SERS in the analysis of trace sample and unknown systems, the existing cleaning methods for SERS substrates are analyzed and a combined chemical adsorption and electrochemical oxidation method is proposed to eliminate the interference of contaminants. A defocusing method is proposed to deal with the laser-induced sample decomposition problem frequently met in SERS measurement to obtain strong signals. The existing methods to estimate the surface enhancement factor, a criterion to characterize the SERS activity of a substrate, are analyzed and some guidelines are proposed to obtain the correct enhancement factor.     

三明治结构纳米银/氧化石墨烯基底的制备及SERS性能

采用易操作且低成本的静电自组装方法, 在质子化的玻璃基片上, 通过交替沉积氧化石墨烯(GO) 和带正电荷的银纳米粒子(AgNPs) 获得少数层GO和AgNPs复合薄膜(AgNPs/GO). 采用紫外-可见光吸收光谱、 原子力显微镜和扫描电子显微镜对复合薄膜的生长和表面形貌进行了表征. 结果表明, 通过调控AgNPs 溶胶浓度和自组装循环次数, 可以获得AgNPs/GO/AgNPs 的三明治结构, 并在基底表面形成均匀的AgNPs 聚集体. 表面增强拉曼散射(SERS)研究结果表明, AgNPs/GO-4基底具有最佳的SERS性能, 其对罗丹明6G(R6G) 和结晶紫的平均拉曼增强因子分别为3.4×10⁸和1.3×10⁹, 对R6G的最低检测浓度约为10^-12 mol/L. 多层三明治结构和较小颗粒间距使得AgNPs层之间产生强烈的耦合作用, 并在GO片层间产生大量的“热点”, 显著提高SERS性能, 而少数层GO具有强吸附性, 有利于分子在基底中富集, 从而起到化学增强作用, 提高SERS灵敏度.     

Electrochemical solid-state phase transformations of silver nanoparticles

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-capped silver nanoparticles (ATP-Ag NPs) were synthesized by reduction of AgNO(3) with borohydride in water with ATP as a capping ligand. The NPs obtained were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. A typical preparation produced ATP-Ag NPs with diameters of 4.5 ± 1.1 nm containing ~2800 Ag atoms and capped with 250 ATP capping ligands. The negatively charged ATP caps allow NP incorporation into layer-by-layer (LbL) films with poly(diallyldimethylammonium) chloride at thiol-modified Au electrode surfaces. Cyclic voltammetry in a single-layer LbL film of NPs showed a chemically reversible oxidation of Ag NPs to silver halide NPs in aqueous halide solutions and to Ag(2)O NPs in aqueous hydroxide solutions. TEM confirmed that this takes place via a redox-driven solid-state phase transformation. The charge for these nontopotactic phase transformations corresponded to a one-electron redox process per Ag atom in the NP, indicating complete oxidation and reduction of all Ag atoms in each NP during the electrochemical phase transformation.