We report on an insulating two-dimensional material, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), which can be used as an effective wrapping layer for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates. This material exhibits outstanding characteristics such as its crystallinity, impermeability, and thermal conductance. Improved SERS sensitivity is confirmed for Au substrates wrapped with h-BN, the mechanism of which is investigated via h-BN thickness-dependent experiments combined with theoretical simulations. The investigations reveal that a stronger electromagnetic field can be generated at the narrowed gap of the h-BN surface, which results in higher Raman sensitivity. Moreover, the h-BN-wrapped Au substrate shows extraordinary stability against photothermal and oxidative damages. We also describe its capability to detect specific chemicals that are difficult to analyze using conventional SERS substrates. We believe that this concept of using an h-BN insulating layer to protect metallic or plasmonic materials will be widely used not only in the field of SERS but also in the broader study of plasmonic and optoelectronic devices.
Keywords: gold nanoparticles; hexagonal boron nitride; hot spot; insulating layer; surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.