Structural transition in the surfactant layer that surrounds gold nanorods as observed by analytical surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) of gold nanorods in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide solution has been used to analyze the interfacial surfactant structure based on the distance-dependent electromagnetic enhancement. The spectra were consistent with a surfactant bilayer oriented normal to the surface. As the surfactant concentration was reduced, a structural transition in the surfactant layer was observed through a sudden increase in the signal from the alkane chains. The structural transition was shown to influence the displacement of the surfactant layer by thiolated poly(ethylene glycol). The monodisperse and thoroughly characterized gold nanorod samples yield consistent enhancement factors that were compared to electromagnetic simulations.