A simple approach for the synthesis of Ag-coated Ni@TiO2 nanocomposites as recyclable photocatalysts and SERS substrate to monitor catalytic degradation of dye molecules

•A simple approach was used to synthesize Ag-coated Ni@TiO2 nanocomposites.•The nanocomposites can be the convenient and effective SERS substrate.•The nanocomposites can be a self-cleaning SERS substrate.•The nanocomposites can monitor the catalytic degradation of dye molecules.

In this work, we demonstrate an extremely simple and speedy approach to synthesis Ag-coated Ni@TiO2 nanocomposites, which can be a convenient and effective substrate for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) observation. Due to possessing the excellent magnetic properties and stable catalytic properties at room temperature, the nanocomposites can clean themselves by photocatalytic degradation of dye molecules under irradiation with UV light into inorganic small molecules for the self-cleaning SERS detection. Furthermore, the nanocomposites can be used as the SERS substrate for monitoring the catalytic degradation of dye molecules.

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