title: Improvement in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy from cubic SiC semiconductor nanowhiskers by adjustment of energy levels.
abstract: Enhanced reproducible Raman signals of the 4-MBA molecule were observed on the surface of semiconducting SiC nanowhiskers (SiCNWs) by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The SERS enhancement was further tuned and boosted by doping with B. Theoretical calculations were performed to unravel the mechanism of the SERS enhancement and it was found that the SERS effect was strongly associated with the energy level structure between the substrate and analyte. Appropriate energy level matching facilitated the charge transfer process during laser illumination, enhancing the SERS signal. This proposed mechanism was verified through multiple control experiments.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China. houxinmei@ustb.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wenna
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China. houxinmei@ustb.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Material Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Junhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Material Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Yingzhi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China. houxinmei@ustb.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xinmei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
authors.forename: Xuemei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China. houxinmei@ustb.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Kuo-Chih
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Chou