Synthesis of ball-like Ag nanorod aggregates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering and catalytic reduction

Abstract

In this work, ball-like Ag nanorod aggregates have been synthesized via a simple seed-mediated method. These Ag mesostructures were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Adding a certain amount of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) can prolong its coagulation time. These Ag nanorod aggregates exhibit effective SERS effect, evaluated by Rhodamine 6G (R6G) and doxorubicin (DOX) as probe molecules. The limit of detection (LOD) for R6G and DOX are as low as 5 × 10-9 M and 5 × 10-6 M, respectively. Moreover, these Ag nanorod aggregates were found to be potential catalysts for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in the presence of NaBH4.