Ag Nanocrystal Junctions as the Site for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering of Single Rhodamine 6G Molecules

Ag Nanocrystal Junctions as the Site for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering of Single Rhodamine 6G Molecules

Received: July 18, 2000; In Final Form: October 3, 2000 | Amy M. Michaels, Jiang Jiang, and Louis Brus*
The article investigates the site of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for single Rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules adsorbed on silver (Ag) nanoparticles. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements reveal that SERS-active particles are compact aggregates of at least two individual Ag nanoparticles. The SERS signal is significantly enhanced when the excitation wavelength resonates with the absorption band of R6G, and an unusual superlinear power dependence is observed, with intensity increases of 4 to 6 times when the incident power is increased by two orders of magnitude while maintaining constant fluence. The authors propose that the rare site for single molecule SERS lies at the junction of two Ag nanoparticles, where the electromagnetic field and ballistic carrier surface flux are significantly enhanced. They also model the system using molecular resonance Raman theory to gain insights into the enhancement mechanism. The results suggest that the Raman excitation spectrum follows the absorption profile of R6G, and the SERS signal is linked to the HOMO-LUMO resonance of the molecule.The article investigates the site of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for single Rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules adsorbed on silver (Ag) nanoparticles. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements reveal that SERS-active particles are compact aggregates of at least two individual Ag nanoparticles. The SERS signal is significantly enhanced when the excitation wavelength resonates with the absorption band of R6G, and an unusual superlinear power dependence is observed, with intensity increases of 4 to 6 times when the incident power is increased by two orders of magnitude while maintaining constant fluence. The authors propose that the rare site for single molecule SERS lies at the junction of two Ag nanoparticles, where the electromagnetic field and ballistic carrier surface flux are significantly enhanced. They also model the system using molecular resonance Raman theory to gain insights into the enhancement mechanism. The results suggest that the Raman excitation spectrum follows the absorption profile of R6G, and the SERS signal is linked to the HOMO-LUMO resonance of the molecule.
Reach us at info@study.space