Surface enhanced Raman scattering substrates based on titanium nitride nanorods

• TiN NRs were prepared using a hydrothermal process followed by nitridation.
• The Raman signal of R6G was significant enhanced in TiN NRs substrates.
• The detection limit with the concentration of 10−6 M for R6G was achieved in our substrates.

TiN nanorod arrays (NRs) were prepared using a hydrothermal process followed by nitridation in ammonia atmosphere. The fabricated TiN NRs were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity of these substrates was evaluated by using Rhodamine (R6G) and crystal violet (CV) as the probe molecules. Results showed that TiN NRs prepared at 900 °C exhibited the strongest Raman enhancement performance. The average sizes of the TiN NRs were 57 nm. The TiN NRs had an absorption peak around 524 nm, which related to surface Plasmon resonance. Compared to the CV molecules, the R6G molecules can obtain a higher enhancement in our substrate. The enhancement factor ((8.9 ± 0.2) × 103) and the R6G detection limit (10−6 M) were achieved. The results showed that the TiN NRs are a kind of promising materials as SERS sensor.