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Ion beam sputtering deposition of silver nanoparticles and TiOx/ZnO nanocomposites for use in surface enhanced vibrational spectroscopy (SERS and SEIRAS)

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Abstract

Hybrids consisting of silver nanoparticles (in varying fractions) and of TiOx/ZnO were prepared via top-down ion beam sputtering (IBS) deposition on silicon substrates. The deposited nanomaterials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is shown that such composites represent a viable substrate for use in both surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS), as exemplarily shown for crystal violet as the model analyte. The C-H bending mode at about 1181 cm−1 and the C-N vibration at 1361 cm−1 observed in the SERS and SEIRAS spectra, respectively, have been used as analytical signal. The substrate consisting of TiOx NPs with 33% fraction of silver provides the strongest enhancement in SERS (up to 10,000-fold), while TiOx/AgNPs with thickness of 2 and 1 nm in ion beam sputtering, respectively, provides the best sensitivity in SEIRAS. The substrates also display photocatalytic activity as shown by the degradation of adsorbed crystal violet under ultraviolet irradiation.

Schematic of the preparation of hybrid substrates consisting of Ag and TiOx/ZnO nanoparticles via ion beam sputtering deposition. They were applied in both surface enhanced Raman and surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopies using crystal violet as model analyte, showing enhancements up to >10,000-fold in Raman.

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Acknowledgements

A.I. López-Lorente and J. Izquierdo thank the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for the award of a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Institute of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (Ulm University, Germany), as well as the Young Investigation Training Program (YITP) from the European Colloid and Interfaces Society financed by the Italian Banking Foundation Association for a research stay at University of Bari (Italy). A.I. López Lorente also acknowledges the Ministry of Education of Spain for a Juan de la Cierva contract at the University of Córdoba (Spain). A.I. López-Lorente and S. Cárdenas wish to thank Spain’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport for funding Project CTQ2017-83175-R.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Química Analítica, Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Química Fina y Nanoquímica IUIQFN, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Rabanales, Edificio Marie Curie Anexo, E-14071, Córdoba, Spain

    Angela I. López-Lorente & Soledad Cárdenas

  2. Institute of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

    Angela I. López-Lorente, Javier Izquierdo, Christine Kranz & Boris Mizaikoff

  3. Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Via Orabona 4, 70126, Bari, Italy

    Rosaria A. Picca, Nicola Cioffi & Gerardo Palazzo

  4. CNR-IFN and Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica “Michelangelo Merlin”, Università degli Studi di Bari “Aldo Moro”, Via Amendola 173, 70126, Bari, Italy

    Cinzia Di Franco

  5. Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Via Amendola 173, 70126, Bari, Italy

    Antonio Valentini

Authors
  1. Angela I. López-Lorente
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  2. Rosaria A. Picca
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  3. Javier Izquierdo
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  4. Christine Kranz
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  5. Boris Mizaikoff
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  6. Cinzia Di Franco
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  7. Soledad Cárdenas
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  8. Nicola Cioffi
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  9. Gerardo Palazzo
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  10. Antonio Valentini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Angela I. López-Lorente.

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López-Lorente, A.I., Picca, R.A., Izquierdo, J. et al. Ion beam sputtering deposition of silver nanoparticles and TiOx/ZnO nanocomposites for use in surface enhanced vibrational spectroscopy (SERS and SEIRAS). Microchim Acta 185, 153 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-018-2708-7

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