title: Laser treatment of Ag@ZnO nanorods as long-life-span SERS surfaces.
abstract: UV nanosecond laser pulses have been used to produce a unique surface nanostructuration of Ag@ZnO supported nanorods (NRs). The NRs were fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at low temperature applying a silver layer as promoter. The irradiation of these structures with single nanosecond pulses of an ArF laser produces the melting and reshaping of the end of the NRs that aggregate in the form of bundles terminated by melted ZnO spherical particles. Well-defined silver nanoparticles (NPs), formed by phase separation at the surface of these melted ZnO particles, give rise to a broad plasmonic response consistent with their anisotropic shape. Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) in the as-prepared Ag@ZnO NRs arrays was proved by using a Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) chromophore as standard analyte. The surface modifications induced by laser treatment improve the stability of this system as SERS substrate while preserving its activity.
authors.affiliation: Nanotechnology on Surfaces Laboratory, Materials Science Institute of Seville (ICMS), CSIC-University of Seville , C/AmericoVespucio 49, 41092 Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Macias-Montero
authors.forename: Ramón J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Peláez
authors.forename: Victor J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Rico
authors.forename: Zineb
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Saghi
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Midgley
authors.forename: Carmen N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Afonso
authors.forename: Agustín R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: González-Elipe
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borras
keywords: Ag@ZnO nanorods; laser treatment; long-life-span SERS; low-temperature plasma growth