Ag/ZrO2-NT/Zr hybrid material: A new platform for SERS measurements

In this paper, we present recent results of our attempts to produce nanoporous zirconia, as well as our investigations of a hybrid material consisting of nanoporous zirconia loaded with Ag-nanoparticles, Ag-n/ZrO2-NT/Zr, which could be used as an active SERS substrate. The Zr-based hybrid material, as our investigations have shown, is an active and stable substrate in SERS investigations aimed at detecting various organic molecules: mercaptobenzoic acid, pyridine and two different dyes - rodhanine derivatives. The SERS spectra for the probe molecules adsorbed on silver nanoparticles on a ZrO2-NT/Zr platform display characteristic intensity ratios different from those measured on previously studied nanoporous substrates based on Ti and Al, which ensure a different (alternative) interaction between the investigated adsorbate and adsorbent. In order to characterize our new substrate we used high-resolution SEM and surface analytical techniques: XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and SERS (surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy).