1 research outputs found
Spiky Gold Nanoshells: Synthesis and Enhanced Scattering Properties
Gold nanoshells covered with sharp rods called “spiky
gold
nanoshells” are synthesized by employing a silver-assisted
seed-growth method for heterogeneous nanoparticle syntheses at polymer/water
interfaces. It is found that silver ions in the growth solution play
an important role in forming uniform gold shells as well as regulating
the surface morphology. The optical properties of spiky gold nanoshells
are investigated by single-particle scattering measurements, single-particle
surface-enhanced Raman scattering measurements, and finite-difference
time-domain modeling. The scattering intensities from isolated spiky
nanoshells are significantly enhanced compared to those of conventional
smooth shells. Moreover, due to the abundant hot spots on spiky nanoshells,
the SERS signal is readily observed from single spiky shells with
a very small intensity variation (35%), whereas there is no detectable
signal from isolated smooth shells. These results demonstrate that
our synthetic method provides a straightforward way to organize metal
nanoparticles into well-defined assemblies with enhanced scattering
properties