Design of high SERS sensitive substrates based on branched Ti nanorods

Nosirudeen Abayomi M Yussuf; Jianlin Li; Yung Joon Jung; Hanchen Huang

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-15875-3

Design of high SERS sensitive substrates based on branched Ti nanorods

Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 8;12(1):11631. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-15875-3.

Authors

Nosirudeen Abayomi M Yussuf^{1

2}, Jianlin Li¹, Yung Joon Jung¹, Hanchen Huang³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, 76203, USA.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, 76203, USA. hanchen@unt.edu.

Abstract

This paper reports a rational design of branched titanium (Ti) nanorods formed by glancing angle physical vapor deposition and their applications as substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Ti nanorods with branches have larger surface areas than non-branched nanorods. However, Ti surface oxidizes easily resulting in very little SERS effect. The SERS sensitivity of the branched titanium nanorod is improved by annealing Ti nanorods in nitrogen in an effort to reduce oxidation. Additionally, the plasmonic resonance of the branched titanium nanorod is further improved by coating the top of the nanorods and branches with silver (Ag). The sensitivity of the SERS substrates is about 3700% that of as-deposited branched Ti nanorods with a native oxide layer. Our investigation provides a mechanism to fabricate sensitive SERS sensors of Ti nanorods that are known to be thermally and chemically stable and compatible with silicon-based electronics.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Nanotubes*
Silicon
Silver
Spectrum Analysis, Raman / methods
Titanium*

Substances

Silver
Titanium
Silicon