Facile synthesis of Ag dendrites on Al foil via galvanic replacement reaction with [Ag(NH3)2]Cl for ultrasensitive SERS detecting of biomolecules

•Simple galvanic replacement is used to synthesize Ag dendrites on commercial Al foils.•This method avoids the introduction of fluoride anions.•The as-prepared dendrites exhibit high SERS activities for biomolecules.•The detection concentration for the biomolecules reaches the level of 10−12 M.

Symmetric silver dendrites have been synthesized on commercial aluminum foil via galvanic replacement reaction with [Ag(NH3)2]Cl. This process is facile and environmentally friendly, without the use of any templates, surfactants or oxidants, and also avoiding the introduction of fluoride anions as a strong toxicity resulting in hypocalcemia. The products were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM characterizations and electrochemical measurements including an electrochemical direct current polarization method and OCP-t technique demonstrate that chloride has proven to be the key factor to the formation of well-defined dendritic shape. The as-prepared Ag dendrites are developed as a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active platform for detection of folic acid, DNA and RNA with well resolved bands and high Raman intensities. The detection concentration for the three biomolecules reaches the level of 10−12 M, and thus the symmetric silver dendrites can potentially be employed as effective SERS sensors for label-free and ultrasensitive biomolecule detection.