Reduced Graphene oxide / Nanoparticle hybrid structures: A new generation smart materials for optical sensors

Abstract

Graphene oxide/reduced Graphene oxide hybrid nanomaterials have been widely used as substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. This is mainly due to that they have unique structures and inherent properties including highest specific surface area, chemical and electrochemical inertness and easy surface modification etc. It is the parent of all graphite form and is an interesting topic of research in the last three to four years. It can be stacked to form 3D graphite, rolled to form ID nanotubes and wrapped to form 0D fullerenes. The long-range π-conjugation in graphene shows extraordinary thermal, mechanical and electrical properties. The carbon nanomaterial-based spectroscopy detection of chemical and biological molecules has gained much attention with its extensive applications to genomic, proteomic and environmental analysis as well as for clinical diagnosis.Surface enhanced Raman (SERS) spectroscopyhas proven to be an effective technique for analyzing the innovative nanomaterials, graphene. This technique has also helped in identifying some unique properties ofgrapheneas a Raman substrate for the suppression of fluorescence. The requirement for a substrate that is biocompatible, chemically inert, and capable of Raman enhancement is a major technological objective and grapheneserves as a suitable material.