title: Towards low-cost flexible substrates for nanoplasmonic sensing.
abstract: Plasmonic nanostructures have played a significant role in the field of nanotechnology due to their unprecedented ability to concentrate light at the nanometre scale, which renders them precious for various sensing applications. The adsorption of plasmonic nanoparticles and nanostructures onto solid substrates in a controlled manner is a crucial process for the fabrication of nanoplasmonic devices, in which the nanoparticles amplify the electromagnetic fields for enhanced device performance. In this perspective article we summarize recent developments in the fabrication of flexible nanoplasmonic devices for sensing applications based on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) shifts. We introduce different types of flexible substrates such as filter paper, free-standing nanofibres, elastomers, plastics, carbon nanotubes and graphene, for the fabrication of low-cost flexible nanoplasmonic devices. Various techniques are described that allow impregnation of such flexible substrates with plasmonic nanoparticles, including solution processes, physical vapour deposition and lithographic techniques. From the discussion in this Perspective, it is clear that highly sensitive and reproducible flexible plasmonic devices can currently be fabricated on a large scale at relatively low-cost, toward real-world applications in diagnostics and detection.
authors.affiliation: Bionanoplasmonics Laboratory, CIC biomaGUNE, Paseo de Miramón 182, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. llizmarzan@cicbiomagune.es
authors.forename: Lakshminarayana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Polavarapu
authors.forename: Luis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Liz-Marzán
mesh_terms: D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D011108:Polymers; D006108:Graphite