Highly uniform and reproducible surface enhanced Raman scattering on air-stable metallic glassy nanowire array.

Abstract

Preparation of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanostructures with both high sensitivity as well as high reproducibility has always been difficult and costly for routine SERS detection. Here we demonstrate air-stable metallic glassy nanowire arrays (MGNWAs), which were prepared by a cheap and rapid die nanoimprinting technique, could exhibit high SERS enhancement factor (EF) as well as excellent reproducibility. It shows that Pd40.5Ni40.5P19 MGNWA with nanowires of 55 nm in diameter and 100 nm in pitch possesses high SERS activity with an EF of 1.1 × 105, which is 1–3 orders of magnitudes higher than that of the reported crystal Ni-based nanostructures, and an excellent reproducibility with a relative standard deviation of 9.60% measured by 121 points over an area of 100 μm*100 μm. This method offers an easy, rapid, and low-cost way to prepare highly sensitive and reproducible SERS substrates and makes the SERS more practicable.