title: Gold Incorporated Mesoporous Silica Thin Film Model Surface as a Robust SERS and Catalytically Active Substrate.
abstract: Ultra-small gold nanoparticles incorporated in mesoporous silica thin films with accessible pore channels perpendicular to the substrate are prepared by a modified sol-gel method. The simple and easy spin coating technique is applied here to make homogeneous thin films. The surface characterization using FESEM shows crack-free films with a perpendicular pore arrangement. The applicability of these thin films as catalysts as well as a robust SERS active substrate for model catalysis study is tested. Compared to bare silica film our gold incorporated silica, GSM-23F gave an enhancement factor of 10³ for RhB with a laser source 633 nm. The reduction reaction of p-nitrophenol with sodium borohydride from our thin films shows a decrease in peak intensity corresponding to -NO₂ group as time proceeds, confirming the catalytic activity. Such model surfaces can potentially bridge the material gap between a real catalytic system and surface science studies.
authors.affiliation: Catalysis Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411 008, India. ac.sunilsekhar@ncl.res.in.|Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Anusandhan Bhawan, 2, Rafi Marg, New Delhi 110 001, India. ac.sunilsekhar@ncl.res.in.
authors.forename: Anandakumari Chandrasekharan
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Sunil Sekhar
authors.affiliation: Catalysis Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411 008, India. cp.vinod@ncl.res.in.|Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Anusandhan Bhawan, 2, Rafi Marg, New Delhi 110 001, India. cp.vinod@ncl.res.in.|Center of Excellence on Surface Science, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411 008, India. cp.vinod@ncl.res.in.
authors.forename: Chathakudath Prabhakaran
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Vinod
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D009596:Nitrophenols / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D009596:Nitrophenols; D006046:Gold; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; C024836:4-nitrophenol
keywords: SERS; gold nanoparticles; model catalysis; thin films