Controlled assembly of gold nanoprism and hexagonal nanoplate films for surface enhanced raman scattering

Abstract

This paper reports a methodology for preparing close-packed two dimensional gold nanoprism films and hexagonal nanoplate films at a hexane/water interface. By controlling the concentration of linker molecules in the hexane layer and the temperature of the colloid solution, highly ordered close-packed nanoplate arrays can be fabricated. These films were investigated to compare their corresponding surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) efficiencies. It was demonstrated that the Au nanoprism films resulted in a stronger SERS enhancement than the Au hexagonal nanoplate films. The difference in the SERS enhancement is attributed to the film array difference, demonstrating that Au nanoprism films have a higher line contact density than their Au hexagonal analogues.