Abstract: | In this paper, pure and Zn‐doped TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) with various content of Zn were prepared by a sol–hydrothermal method and were employed as active substrates for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). On the 3% Zn‐doped TiO2 substrate, 4‐mercaptobenzoic acid(4‐MBA) molecules exhibit a higher SERS intensity by a factor of 6, as compared with the native enhancement of 4‐MBA adsorbed on undoped TiO2 NPs. Moreover, the higher SERS activity was still observed on the 3% Zn‐doped TiO2 NPs at temperature even up to 125 °C. These results indicate that an appropriate amount of Zn doping can improve the SERS performances of TiO2 SERS‐active substrates. The introduction of Zn dopant can enrich the surface states (defects) of TiO2 and improve the separation efficiency of photo‐generated charge carriers (electrons and holes) in TiO2, according to measurements of X‐ray diffraction, UV‐visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence, which are responsible for the influence of Zn dopant on the improved SERS performances of TiO2 NPs. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |