Abstract
UV irradiation of aligned diphenylalanine peptide nanotubes (FF-PNTs) decorated with plasmonic silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) enables photo-induced surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. UV-induced charge transfer facilitates a chemical enhancement that provides up to a 10-fold increase in surface-enhanced Raman intensity and allows the detection of a wide range of small molecules and low Raman cross-section molecules at concentrations as low as 10–13 M. The aligned FF-PNT/Ag NP template further prevents photodegradation of the molecules under investigation. Our results demonstrate that FF-PNTs can be used as an alternative material to semiconductors such as titanium dioxide for photo-induced surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy applications.
Highlights
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a subject of considerable research interest due to its ultrasensitive detection, analysis, and imaging applications[1]
Aligned FF-PNTs were formed with Ag NPs following a previously reported procedure (see supplementary information (Fig. S1))[49]
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the resulting aligned FF-PNT/Ag NP template (Fig. 1) shows aligned FF-PNTs with Ag NPs clusters
Summary
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a subject of considerable research interest due to its ultrasensitive detection, analysis, and imaging applications[1]. It has been previously reported that aligned FF-PNT templates formed with plasmon-active Ag NPs enabled SERS detection of molecules[49,50].
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