The poor time stability of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates greatly limits their application potential. Although core–shell structures are commonly used to enhance stability, their complex preparation processes, high costs, and susceptibility under acidic or alkaline conditions result in serious disadvantages for practical applications. Here, we propose a new method of external oxygen barrier to improve spectral stability, in which SERS substrates are stored in an oxygen-free environment. Controlled experiments are carried out under air and vacuum. Raman spectrum intensity is measured 11 times within six months for each group. Using the attenuation formula, the Raman spectrum intensity decay results of each SERS substrate over time are obtained. The effectiveness of the external oxygen barrier method is demonstrated through curve fitting using the corresponding function. The substrate spectral attenuation rates of the vacuum group and the argon group within six months are <20%, proving the effectiveness of the external oxygen barrier method.
ManikandanP.ManikandanD.ManikandanE.FerdinandA.C.. “Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) of Silver Ions Embedded Nanocomposite Glass”. Spectrochim. Acta, Part A. 2014. 124: 203–207.
2.
ThuyN.T.N.LuanH.N.T.HieuV.V.K.NganM.T.T., et al. “Optimum Fabrication Parameters for Preparing High Performance SERS Substrates Based on Si Pyramid Structure and Silver Nanoparticles”. RSC Adv. 2021. 11(50): 31189–31196.
3.
PhamT.B.NguyenV.C.PhamV.H.BuiH., et al. “Fabrication of Silver Nano-Dendrites on Optical Fibre Core by Laser-Induced Method for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Applications”. J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 2020. 20(3): 1928–1935.
4.
ChenZ.SegevM.. “Highlighting Photonics: Looking into the Next Decade”. eLight. 2021. 1: 2. 10.1186/s43593-021-00002-y
5.
HeY.-Q.WeiS.-Y.GuoY.-X.ZhaoM., et al. “Research Progress of Remote Detection with Ultraviolet Raman Spectroscopy”. Chin. Opt. 2019. 12: 1249–1259. 10.3788/CO.20191206.1249
6.
ZhouW.-C.LiZ.-H.WuJ.. “Research Progress of Single Molecule Biological Detection Methods and Applications”. Chin. Opt. 2022. 15: 878–894. 10.37188/CO.2022-0129
7.
DongS.HeD.ZhangQ., et al. “Early Cancer Detection by Serum Biomolecular Fingerprinting Spectroscopy with Machine Learning”. eLight. 2023. 3(1): 17.
8.
LiuH.GaoX.XuC.LiuD.. “SERS Tags for Biomedical Detection and Bioimaging”. Theranostics. 2022. 12(4): 1870–1903.
9.
XuM.GaoY.HanX.ZhaoB.. “Innovative Application of SERS in Food Quality and Safety: A Brief Review of Recent Trends”. Foods. 2022. 11(14): 2097.
10.
NilghazA.MahdiM.S.AmiriA.TianJ., et al. “Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Substrates for Food Safety and Quality Analysis”. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2022. 70(18): 5463–5476.
11.
WengS.HuX.WangJ.TangL., et al. “Advanced Application of Raman Spectroscopy and Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy in Plant Disease Diagnostics: A Review”. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2021. 69(10): 2950–2964.
12.
Blanco-FormosoM.Alvarez-PueblaR.A.. “Cancer Diagnosis Through SERS and Other Related Techniques”. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020. 21(6): 2253.
13.
ChangJ.ZhangA.HuangZ.ChenY., et al. “Monodisperse Au@Ag Core–Shell Nanoprobes with Ultrasensitive SERS-Activity for Rapid Identification and Raman Imaging of Living Cancer Cells”. Talanta. 2019. 198: 45–54.
14.
LinJ.RenW.LiA.YaoC., et al. “Crystal-Amorphous Core–Shell Structure Synergistically Enabling TiO2 Nanoparticles’ Remarkable SERS Sensitivity for Cancer Cell Imaging”. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 2020. 12(4): 4204–4211.
15.
DangL.T.NguyenH.L.PhamH.V.NguyenM.T.T.. “Shell Thickness-Controlled Synthesis of Au@Ag Core–Shell Nanorods Structure for Contaminants Sensing by SERS”. Nanotechnology. 2021. 33(7): 075704.
16.
LiB.LiuY.ChengJ.. “Facile Regulation of Shell Thickness of the Au@MOF Core–Shell Composites for Highly Sensitive Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Sensing”. Sensors. 2022. 22(8): 7039.
17.
ZhangH.SunL.ZhangY.KangY., et al. “Production of Stable and Sensitive SERS Substrate Based on Commercialized Porous Material of Silanized Support”. Talanta. 2017. 174: 301–306.
18.
WangL.WomilojuA.A.HöppenerC.SchubertU.S.. “On the Stability of Microwave-Fabricated SERS Substrates: Chemical and Morphological Considerations”. Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021. 12: 541–551.
19.
LiuY.WuH.MaL.ZouS., et al. “Highly Stable and Active SERS Substrates with Ag–Ti Alloy Nanorods”. Nanoscale. 2018. 10(42): 19863–19870.
20.
ShaP.SuQ.DongP.WangT., et al. “Fabrication of Ag@Au (Core@Shell) Nanorods as a SERS Substrate by the Oblique Angle Deposition Process and Sputtering Technology”. RSC Adv. 2021. 11(44): 27107–27114.
21.
LinZ.YangJ.TangZ.LiG.HuY.. “Nitrogen Dots as Reductant and Stabilizer for the Synthesis of AgNPs/N-Dots Nanocomposites for Efficient Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Detection”. Talanta. 2018. 178: 515–521.
22.
PekdemirS.KarabelS.KiremitlerN.B.LiuX., et al. “Modulating the Kinetics of Nanoparticle Adsorption for Simple and High-Yield Fabrication of Plasmonic Heterostructures as SERS Substrates”. ChemPhysChem. 2017. 18(15): 2114–2122.
23.
WangC.ChenY.MaZ.WangT.SuZ.. “Generalized Fabrication of Surfactant-Stabilized Anisotropic Metal Nanoparticles to Amino-Functionalized Surfaces: Application to Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy”. J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 2008. 8(11): 5887–5895.
24.
PostonP.E.HarrisJ.M.. “Stable, Dispersible Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Substrate Capable of Detecting Molecules Bound to Silica-Immobilized Ligands”. Appl. Spectrosc. 2010. 64(11): 1238–1243.
25.
TanY.ZouJ.GuN.. “Preparation of Stabilizer-Free Silver Nanoparticle-Coated Micropipettes as Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Substrate for Single Cell Detection”. Nanoscale Res. Lett. 2015. 10(1): 417.
26.
RistrophK.SalimM.ClulowA.J.BoydB.J.Prud’hommeR.K.. “Chemistry and Geometry of Counterions Used in Hydrophobic Ion Pairing Control Internal Liquid Crystal Phase Behavior and Thereby Drug Release”. Mol. Pharm. 2021. 18(4): 1666–1676.
27.
ZhangL.P.WeiZ.H.HeS.N.HuangY.P.LiuZ.S.. “Preparation, Characterization, and Application of Soluble Liquid Crystalline Molecularly Imprinted Polymer in Electrochemical Sensor”. Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 2020. 412(26): 7321–7332.
28.
ZhangS.JiangZ.LiangY.ShenY., et al. “Effect of the Duty Cycle of Flower-Like Silver Nanostructures Fabricated with a Lyotropic Liquid Crystal on the SERS Spectrum”. Molecules. 2021. 26(21): 6522.
29.
FleischmannM.HendraP.J.McQuillanA.J.. “Raman Spectra of Pyridine Adsorbed at a Silver Electrode”. Chem. Phys. Lett. 1974. 26(2): 163–166.
30.
JeanmaireD.L.Van DuyneR.P.. “Surface Raman Spectroelectrochemistry: Part I. Heterocyclic, Aromatic, and Aliphatic Amines Adsorbed on the Anodized Silver Electrode”. J. Electroanal. Chem. Inter. Electrochem. 1977. 84(1): 1–20.
31.
AlbrechtM.G.CreightonJ.A.. “Anomalously Intense Raman Spectra of Pyridine at a Silver Electrode”. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1977. 99(15): 5215–5217.
32.
ZhaoN.LiH.XieY.FengZ., et al. “3D Aluminum/Silver Hierarchical Nanostructure with Large Areas of Dense Hot Spots for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering”. Electrophoresis. 2019. 40(23–24): 3123–3131.
33.
RycengaM.XiaX.MoranC.H.ZhouF., et al. “Generation of Hot Spots with Silver Nanocubes for Single-Molecule Detection by Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering”. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011. 50(24): 5473–5477.
34.
XieT.CaoZ.LiY.LiZ., et al. “Highly Sensitive SERS Substrates with Multi-Hot Spots for On-Site Detection of Pesticide Residues”. Food Chem. 2022. 381: 132208.
35.
HuangP.SunS.LeiH., et al. “Nonlocal Interaction Enhanced Biexciton Emission in Large CsPbBr3 Nanocrystals”. eLight. 2023. 3(10): 1–8. 10.1186/s43593-023-00045-3
36.
LeeD.SoS.HuG., et al. “Hyperbolic Metamaterials: Fusing Artificial Structures to Natural 2D Materials”. eLight. 2022. 2(1): 1–23. 10.1186/s43593-021-00008-6
37.
LinH.ChengJ.. “Computational Coherent Raman Scattering Imaging: Breaking Physical Barriers by Fusion of Advanced Instrumentation and Data Science”. eLight. 2023. 3(6): 1–19. 10.1186/s43593-022-00038-8
38.
WeyherJ.L.BartosewiczB.DzięcielewskiI., et al. “Relationship Between the Nano-Structure of GaN Surfaces and SERS Efficiency: Chasing Hot-Spots”. Appl. Surf. Sci. 2019. 466: 554–561.
39.
KleinmanS.L.FrontieraR.R.HenryA.-I., et al. “Creating, Characterizing, and Controlling Chemistry with SERS Hot Spots”. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2013. 15(1): 21–36.
40.
KozhinaE.P.BedinS.A.NechaevaN.L., et al. “Ag-Nanowire Bundles with Gap Hot Spots Synthesized in Track-Etched Membranes as Effective SERS-Substrates”. Appl. Sci. 2021. 11(4): 1375.
41.
JiangZ.ZhangS.SongC.MaoH., et al. “Improvement of Raman Spectrum Uniformity of SERS Substrate Based on Flat Electrode”. Chin. Opt. Lett. 2023. 21(11): 113001. 10.3788/COL202321.11300
42.
ZheludkevichM.L.GusakovA.G.VoropaevA.G., et al. “Oxidation of Silver by Atomic Oxygen”. Oxid. Met. 2004. 61(1–2): 39–48.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
