A simple method for fabrication of enhanced fluorescence substrate on TEM copper grid

A simple method to fabricate enhanced fluorescence substrates was experimentally demonstrated. The fabricated substrate, consisting of silver dendrites, was manufactured by a modified galvanic displacement process between Ag ions and TEM grid at room temperature. Substrate enhancement efficiency, which was evaluated from fluorescence spectrum intensities of the adsorbed Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) molecules, was found to increase rapidly with reaction time. The observation highlights the importance of strong coupling effects between silver nanobranches and the variation of SEF efficiency can be qualitatively explained with the local surface plasmon resonance model of coupled silver nanostructures. As a result, with a laser, a spectrometer, some second-hand TEM grids, and simple chemical agents, we can easily fabricate the enhanced substrate, which can be applied to study surface enhanced fluorescence, one of the research focuses currently.