This study examines the improvements in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance achieved when silver nanodendritic structures are coated with various graphene-based materials, namely graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). The tests are performed on our unique SERS-active substrates, prepared on the surface of planar microelectrode chips using an electric field-guided Ag nanoparticle assembly process. The graphene-based materials are introduced into the substrate by means of an in-house spray-coating technique. The SERS enhancement effect of each coating is examined as a function of spray nozzle passes (N) and optimal values are identified for each coating type. The enhancements found for GO, rGO, and GNP (6⁻9 graphene layers thick) coatings are 2.3 (N = 25), 2.5 (N = 5), and 1.6 (N = 1), respectively. Additionally, in comparison with their uncoated counterparts, substrates coated with rGO (N = 5) are shown to enhance the intensity of the methamphetamine (5 ppb) spectrum in artificial saliva by approximately 3-fold. Overall, it can be concluded that the introduction of GO or rGO to the SERS substrate using spray-coating, a simple and also scalable method, can produce substantial SERS performance enhancement.
Keywords: electric field-guided assembly; graphene-based coatings; illicit drug detection; silver dendrites; sprayed coatings; surface-enhanced Raman scattering.