In situ synthesis of Ag nanoparticles-graphene oxide nanocomposites with strong SERS activity

Without any capping agents or multistep process, a simple and green method for in situ synthesis of the Ag nanoparticles-graphene oxide sheets (Ag NPs-GO) nanocomposites was proposed. The Ag NPs were well-distributed on the surface of the GO sheets with a uniform size. The formation mechanism of the resulting nanocomposites was discussed. The presence of Ag NPs enhanced the Raman signal of GO in the resulting nanocomposites with an enhancement factor (EF) of 43. The resulting nanocomposites exhibited strong surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity toward rhodamine 6G (R6G) with an EF of 1.4 x 10(7). The synergistic effects of the R6G molecules adsorbed on GO sheets and the coupled EM field caused by the Ag NPs lead to the significant SERS enhancement. This result makes the resulting Ag NPs-GO nanocomposites a more promising SERS substrate.