title: Silicon nanohybrid-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensors.
abstract: Nanomaterial-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors are highly promising analytical tools, capable of ultrasensitive, multiplex, and nondestructive detection of chemical and biological species. Extensive efforts have been made to design various silicon nanohybrid-based SERS substrates such as gold/silver nanoparticle (NP)-decorated silicon nanowires, Au/Ag NP-decorated silicon wafers (AuNP@Si), and so forth. In comparison to free AuNP- and AgNP-based SERS sensors, the silicon nanohybrid-based SERS sensors feature higher enhancement factors (EFs) and excellent reproducibility, since SERS hot spots are efficiently coupled and stabilized through interconnection to the semiconducting silicon substrates. Consequently, in the past decade, giant advancements in the development of silicon nanohybrid-based SERS sensors have been witnessed for myriad sensing applications. In this review, the representative achievements related to the design of high-performance silicon nanohybrid-based SERS sensors and their use for chemical and biological analysis are reviewed in a detailed way. Furthermore, the major opportunities and challenges in this field are discussed from a broad perspective and possible future directions.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM) and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of, Carbon-based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, PR China.
authors.forename: Houyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiangxu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Shuit-Tong
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon
keywords: SERS; SERS sensors; sensors; silicon nanohybrids; surface-enhanced Raman scattering