Research PaperFacile synthesis of multi-branched AgPt alloyed nanoflowers and their excellent applications in surface enhanced Raman scattering

•AgPt DNFs were fabricated by a one-pot successive co-reduction aqueous method.•Apzc was used as a structure-directing agent.•The growth mechanism of AgPt DNFs was investigated in some detail.•The hierarchical structures displayed significant SERS enhancement for 4-NTP as a typical Raman probe.•AgPt DNFs demonstrated improved SERS performance for the detection of 4-NTP.

With the purpose to search novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates, uniform multi-branched AgPt alloyed dendritic nanoflowers (AgPt DNFs) are fabricated with the assistance of 3-aminopyrazine-2-carboxylic acid (Apzc) as a structure-director via a one-pot successive aqueous co-reduction strategy. The formation mechanism of AgPt DNFs is investigated in details. Their morphology, structure, size, and composition are confirmed by a series of characterization technique. The hierarchical nanostructures exhibit strong SERS enhancement and excellent stability by using 4-nitrothiophenolate (4-NTP) as a typical Raman probe. The improved SERS performance for 4-NTP is mainly attributed to the synergistic effects between the bimetals, together with the enriched hot spots at the sharp corners and/or edges of the architectures. This synthetic strategy provided a facile and environment-friendly method to prepare other metallic architectures with novel properties.

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