Effect of cationic polyacrylamide dissolution on the adsorption state of gold nanoparticles on paper and their Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering properties

This study examines and quantifies the effect of cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) dissolution kinetics and charge density on the adsorption and aggregation state of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on paper and the resulting Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) performance. Dissolution kinetics of CPAM of different charge density was studied by monitoring their viscosity and hydrodynamic diameter over regular intervals of time. It was found that the degree of dissolution of CPAM greatly affected the surface coverage and aggregation of AuNPs on the CPAM pre-adsorbed paper substrate and their SERS reproducibility. CPAM of higher charge density dissolves faster and produced a more uniform aggregation and higher surface coverage of AuNPs on paper for a higher and more reproducible Raman EF. Understanding the CPAM dissolution process enables the optimization of SERS performance of the AuNPs-paper as a bio-diagnostic platform.

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► Dissolution kinetic of CPAM greatly affected AuNPs distribution on paper.
► Higher charge density CPAM dissolves faster and produces uniformly distributed AuNPs for higher SERS reproducibility.
► Understanding CPAM dissolution kinetic is able to optimize SERS performance of AuNPs-paper.