title: Recyclable three-dimensional Ag nanoparticle-decorated TiO2 nanorod arrays for surface-enhanced Raman scattering.
abstract: Multifunctional Ag nanoparticle-decorated TiO2 nanorod arrays were prepared by two simple processes. TiO2 nanorod arrays were first fabricated by the hydrothermal route and then Ag nanoparticles were decorated on the nanorods by the chemical reduction impregnation method. Three-dimensional Ag/TiO2 arrays were used as an active substrate for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The results show that the detection limit for rhodamine 6G (R6G) was as low as 10(-7)M and the Raman enhancement factor was as large as 10(5). After calibrating the Raman peak intensities of R6G, it could be quantitatively detected. More importantly, the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 provides a self-cleaning capability to the SERS substrate, which can be recycled and used to degrade many Ag surface adsorbates such as R6G, methyl orange, Congo red, and methylene blue after exposure to visible light. The absorbed small molecules can all be rapidly and completely removed from the SERS substrate, which has been successfully reused four times without a decrease in accuracy or sensitivity. Our results reveal that the unique recyclable property not only paves a new way to solve the single-use problem of traditional SERS substrates but also provides more SERS platforms for multiple detections of other organic molecular species.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioprocess, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China; College of Science, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioprocess, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China; College of Science, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Chang Xing
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioprocess, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Luo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Engineering Research Center for Semiconductor Integrated Technology, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Yong Mei
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioprocess, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China; College of Science, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China. Electronic address: hjxu@mail.buct.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hai Jun
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D001704:Biopolymers / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D017743:Equipment Reuse; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010316:Particle Size; D059027:Recycling / Q000379:methods; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013499:Surface Properties; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; C009495:titanium dioxide; D012834:Silver; D014025:Titanium
keywords: Ag nanoparticle; Quantitative detection; Recyclable detection; Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS); TiO(2) nanorod array