title: Chromic materials for responsive surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering systems: a nanometric pH sensor.
abstract: The use of chromic materials for responsive surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) based nanosensors is reported. The potential of nano-chromic SERRS is demonstrated with the use of the halochrome methyl yellow to fabricate an ultrasensitive pH optical sensor. Some of the challenges of the incorporation of chromic materials with metal nanostructures are addressed through the use of computational calculations and a comparison to measured SERRS and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra is presented. A strong correlation between the measured SERRS and the medium's proton concentration is demonstrated for the pH range 2-6. The high sensitivity achieved by the use of resonance Raman conditions is shown through responsive SERRS measurements from only femtolitres of volume and with the concentration of the reporting molecules approaching the single molecule regime.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química USP, São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rômulo A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.forename: Nicholas P W
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Pieczonka
authors.forename: Paulo S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Ricardo F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Aroca
mesh_terms: D001391:Azo Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D002863:Chromogenic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods*; D004124:p-Dimethylaminoazobenzene / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001391:Azo Compounds; D002863:Chromogenic Compounds; D003102:Colloids; D012834:Silver; D004124:p-Dimethylaminoazobenzene