UV-light-assisted synthesis of CeB_(6)@Ag nano-trees for SERS application

The conventional methods of using surfactants to synthesize noble metal nanoparticles usually introduce residues on the surface,which inevitably decreases nanoparticles’ surface enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) performance.Herein,we propose a surfactant-free and feasible approach of preparing cerium hexaboride-Ag nano-trees hybrids(CeB_(6)@Ag nano-trees) as the SERS substrate.First,the CeB_(6)was synthesized by a one-pot ionothermal method.Secondly,the CeB_(6)powder and silver nitrate were dispersed in an aqueous solution.Thereafter,the Ag+was reduced by the UV-light assisted photoreaction and deposited on the surface of the CeB_(6).The SERS performance of the CeB_(6)@Ag nano-trees was evaluated by using the Rhodamine 6 G as the Raman reporter.It shows that CeB_(6)@Ag nano-trees exhibit good SERS sensitivity with the enhancement factor of 2.45 × 10^(7) and detection limit of 10^(-10) mol/L.Moreover,uniformity evaluation of the SERS signal intensity on the substrate also shows that relatively good relative standard deviation values of 12.6%(Raman peak@612 cm^(-1)) and 14.1%(Raman peak@1652 cm^(-1))can be achieved.Finally,finite element simulation evidences that excellent SERS performance of the CeB_(6)@Ag nano-trees is produced by the strong coupled localized surface plasmon resonance generated under the Raman laser irradiation.