title: Hexagonal Boron Nitride/Au Substrate for Manipulating Surface Plasmon and Enhancing Capability of Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.
abstract: We report on an insulating two-dimensional material, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), which can be used as an effective wrapping layer for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates. This material exhibits outstanding characteristics such as its crystallinity, impermeability, and thermal conductance. Improved SERS sensitivity is confirmed for Au substrates wrapped with h-BN, the mechanism of which is investigated via h-BN thickness-dependent experiments combined with theoretical simulations. The investigations reveal that a stronger electromagnetic field can be generated at the narrowed gap of the h-BN surface, which results in higher Raman sensitivity. Moreover, the h-BN-wrapped Au substrate shows extraordinary stability against photothermal and oxidative damages. We also describe its capability to detect specific chemicals that are difficult to analyze using conventional SERS substrates. We believe that this concept of using an h-BN insulating layer to protect metallic or plasmonic materials will be widely used not only in the field of SERS but also in the broader study of plasmonic and optoelectronic devices.
authors.forename: Gwangwoo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Minsu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Chohee
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hyun
authors.affiliation: Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (CMCM), Institute for Basic Science (IBS) , UNIST-gil 50, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seokmo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Kyung Yeol
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (CMCM), Institute for Basic Science (IBS) , UNIST-gil 50, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyeon Suk
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0495-7443
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (CMCM), Institute for Basic Science (IBS) , UNIST-gil 50, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyunseob
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lim
keywords: gold nanoparticles; hexagonal boron nitride; hot spot; insulating layer; surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy