Surface modification of SERS substrates with plasma-polymerized trimethylsilane nanocoating

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates were modified by depositing a nanometer-thick polymer coating on top of SERS-active surface. This thin hydrophobic nanocoating, achieved by low temperature plasma polymerization of trimethylsilane, was found to reduce surface energy of SERS substrate and in turn help relieve the analyte spreading on the surface of SERS substrates. Detection of melamine molecules with these surface-modified SERS substrates showed that this plasma nanocoating improved, not significantly though, SERS sensitivity in comparison with unmodified SERS substrates. It is believed that the increased hydrophobicity induced by this plasma nanocoating had two folds of beneficial effects on SERS sensitivity. First, the as-produced hydrophobic surface gave rise to preconcentration effect due to the reduced contact area between analyte molecules and the substrate surface. Second, the decreased surface energy of SERS substrates was helpful in placing analyte molecules in SERS hot spots. These two combined gains were deemed to outweigh the loss of SERS sensitivity caused by enlarged distance between metal surface and analyte molecules.