An approach for fabricating self-assembled monolayer of gold nanoparticles on NH2+ ion implantation modified indium tin oxide as the SERS-active substrate

In this paper, an approach for fabricating an active surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate was adopted. This approach was based on the assembling of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) film on NH2+ ion implantation modified indium tin oxide (NH2/ITO) substrate. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the surface morphology of the active SERS substrate, which showed that large quantities of AuNPs were coated on the substrate. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) was used as probe molecules for SERS experiments, showing that this new active substrate had sensitivity to SERS response. The substrate efficiency was strictly related to the AuNPs morphology, which depended on the pH value of the Au colloid used in the assembly process.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Gold nanoparticles attached NH2+ ion implantation modified indium tin oxide as new SERS active substrate. ► AuNPs distributed on the modified ITO substrate with high density. ► The detection limit is 10−12 M for R6G.